b. 1905 d. 1975
Site Affiliation: Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio
George L.K. Morris was born in 1905 to a wealthy and prominent American family which included a signer of the Declaration of Independence and signer of the Constitution, diplomats and statesmen. After his education at Groton and Yale, Morris traveled to Paris in 1929 where he met Picasso, Braque and Brancusi. In 1935, he married Suzy Frelinghuysen and in 1936 became one of the founding members of the American Abstract Artists. Morris admired the geometric order of Cubism and was insistent that art should be made for its own sake and not to reflect social causes like the popular Social Realism of the 1930’s. His role as an editor and art critic of the Partisan Review furthered his influence as abstract art advocate. In 1941, Frelinghuysen and Morris built their Bauhaus inspired house onto the studio and incorporated frescoes into the walls. In the 50’s Morris’ paintings of receding checkerboard patterns anticipated Op Art and in the 60’s he enjoyed his greatest success in the art world. Morris was fatally injured in an automobile accident in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1975.
Primary Medium: Oil Painting, Fresco
Primary Stylistic Term: Bauhaus, Abstract, Non-Objective Modernist
HAHS Affiliations: Morris was married to singer and painter Suzy Frelinghuysen.
Recommended Publications: Suzy Frelinghuysen and George L.K. Morris: American Abstract Artists, Aspects of Their Work and Collection by Debra Bricker Balken and Deborah Menaker Rothschild (1993)
Watch: Modern Minute: “Indian Composition #8,” George L.K. Morris