Remembering Andrew

My uncle Andrew died this past Spring (March 2011). He was a teacher, a painter and a great man. Here are just a few highlights of the long list of fond memories I have of my uncle. I only took one class with Andrew while at the University of Miami. It was a painting class. He was very encouraging and a little bit inspirational. He gave me a B. I never questioned it. I thought it fair enough. But my Mom wanted to know why Andrew gave her son a B in painting. Andrew explained that I was unable to recognize a painting by Raoul Dufy. Andrew did suggest that the students in his class should be familiar with a short list of important artists. To this day, when I see a Dufy on a visit to an art museum I smile and think of Andrew. (Usually I’m not sure it is a Dufy, until I read the museum placard.) South Truro and Two Fine Horses – Two pieces of Andrew’s art hang proudly in my home. South Truro is a sort of abstract/expressionist painting, a landscape from his time in the New England area. Two Fine Horses is black India ink drawing on paper of two horses in a trailer. (That picture hung in the Andrew Morgan kitchen in Miami. When I told Andrew how I admired the simple lines of that composition – he gave it to me.) Both works feature a vintage Andrew signature from 1955 (The year I was born). Go Hurricanes – I became the beneficiary of that extra ticket when Dahlia decided to give her’s up. Andrew loved the Canes and I loved driving to the Orange Bowl with him. Andrew loved sharing the games with my parents too. Doing the Macarena in the warm sun and watching Ray Lewis reek havock on the offense. It doesn’t get much better than that. I was with Andrew the day the Orange Bowl home winning streak ended against Washington. I am so glad I got that additional time with Andrew and my parents in 1994-95. It was before Miami joined the ACC and before the demolition of the Orange Bowl. Mowing the Lawn in Miami – I had the pleasure of mowing the lawn from time to time for Andrew and Dahlia. Florida landscaping is never easy. Mangoes, Oranges, palm fronds and more. I loved every second of it though. Yearbook – I was associate editor of the Ibis Yearbook my senior year. One of my favorite pages in that 1977-78 edition features three dynamic shots of Andrew in action. The student photographer was able to capture the essence of Andrew’s dramatic gestures. On film it is almost as if he could vanish with a wave of his hand. And so he has. (page 116 University of Miami Ibis yearbook - photo above) Bragging about my uncle – “You know my uncle was President of the Kansas City Art Institute for ten years before the University of Miami offered him an opportunity to head the art department in beautiful Coral Gables, Florida in the early 1970’s.” I’m glad he accepted that opportunity, because by the time Richard Nixon resigned from office over the Watergate cover up, I was checking into Mahoney Hall with my brother Greg at the University of Miami. (I can almost hear Joe Cocker blasting out of our 8-track player now, “She came in through the bathroom window, protected by a silver spoon….”) I ended up at the “U” because of Andrew as much as any other reason. That is a decision I will never regret! (It’s very cold in Syracuse, you know.) Raoul Dufy (3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events. He was also a draftsman, printmaker, book illustrator, a theatrical set-dresser, a designer of furniture, and a planner of public spaces. Miami Hurricanes - Between 1985 and 1994, Miami won an astounding 58 straight games at home, breaking the record for the longest home winning streak previously held by Alabama, which won 57 straight at home between 1963 and 1982.

Andrew Morgan '48 P'74

Andrew Morgan '48 P'74 died on March 18, 2011, of Alzheimer's disease. The resident of Miami, Florida, was eighty-eight.

Andrew worked with the oil bar, a thick oil-paint crayon. "His colors are gorgeous," said Brian Dursum, director of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami. "Andrew's paintings have a kind of pastel look to them." Helen Kohen, retired art critic for the Herald, said Morgan landscapes have an "outward pleasantry" with an edge--"a snake, if you will, in paradise."

In an introduction to an exhibition of Andrew's paintings at the Gallery of Fine Art at Edison Community College in 2001, curator Ron Bishop said he was "caught off guard" when he first saw Andrew's work. "The paintings were exquisite. Andrew's work is technically masterful, fresh and lush, rich in color and visual imagery."

In his own statement for that exhibition, Andrew said, "Drawing was always a natural activity for me. This obsession was not always met with enthusiasm at the private elementary and prep schools that I attended. There were no art teachers. Even the college of my choice had no art department." The art landscape changed at Kenyon by the time Andrew returned to the College after his military service, in 1946. "This new teacher, David L. Strout ... was a fine painter and motivator--also my junior by a few months." He noted that his favorite landscape locations were the Oregon coast, the Florida Everglades, and "the magic of New Mexico."

He was a history major at Kenyon and attended for two years before serving in the U.S. Army for four years during World War II, with considerable time spent in England. He then returned to Kenyon. He played football and basketball. Andrew did graduate work in history at Johns Hopkins University and earned a master's degree in fine art at the University of North Carolina.

He rented a "cheap studio" in New York City and became part of the city's vibrant art scene, becoming friendly with the abstract expressionists Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, according to the Miami Herald. While in New York, he also worked as an art critic for the Saturday Review. Andrew later became president of the Kansas City Art Institute and then taught art at the University of Mississippi. He joined the art faculty at the University of Miami in 1970, and, as chair for five years, is credited with expanding the department. He continued there until 1987, when he retired to become a prolific painter of Florida landscapes, the Herald said.

"He lived for art," his wife, Dahlia Morgan, told the newspaper. "Art was his religion. To the end ... he responded to anything visual." Dahlia Morgan is the former director of the Florida International University Frost Art Museum. Andrew painted abstracts with a sense of spontaneity, his wife said, but gradually became "more measured and organized abstract signs and symbols" before bringing his attention to landscapes.

His work was exhibited around the country, including at the Pietrantonio Gallery in New York City; Stamford Museum, Stamford, Connecticut; Roko Gallery, New York City; Leedy Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri; Lowe Art Museum; Viscaya Museum, Miami, Florida; and Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida; among others. His paintings can be found in a number of private collections. At various times, he was a consultant for the U.S. Office of Education; University of Michigan; Houston Museum, Houston; Chicago Art Institute; and the North Central Association of Colleges.

He was survived by his wife; sons Alex '74, Nicholas, and Vincent Morgan; stepchildren Adrian and Leslie Schreiber; and brothers James and David Morgan. Memorial donations may be sent to L'Chaim Jewish Hospice Program, 14875 NW 77th Ave., Suite 100, Miami Lakes, Florida, 33014