Robert Clarke Morris died Dec. 7. Born in 1931, he is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gitta, and daughters Lisa Morris of Rhinebeck, New York, and Kristin Morris of Madison, who remember him as the very best Dad in the world.
Bob always knew he’d be an artist. Growing up in New York City, he could take advantage of all the art the City had to offer. At Yale University he studied with Josef Albers and other luminaries of the early 1950s. After receiving his BFA degree, he was stationed in the Army Artillery in the wilds of Texas, leaving him with a lifelong aversion of camping which he gamely suppressed to placate his enthusiastic wife and children. He remained in Houston where he became the director of the Contemporary Arts Museum, showcasing (to the gasps of some Board members) emerging avant-garde artists of the midcentury.
But Bob had spent happy boyhood summers on the Watrous farm on Nut Plains Road, Guilford, and in 1960 the Morrises moved East, living in Madison for 44 years before settling in Guilford. Tall, lanky, and red-bearded, he was spotted, frequently on his bike or walking his beloved Scottish terriers. Gitta often complained that no one recognized her unless she was standing next to Bob. His sense of the absurd that kept his friends and family laughing was the overlying theme of his precise paintings and drawings, many of which juxtaposed icebergs, aircraft, and architecture—in eerie prescience of today’s world.
Bob taught the Albers color and basic design courses at the University of Bridgeport among colleagues who were also Albers disciples. In 1970, he received his MFA at University of Texas, Austin. Returning to Connecticut, his last teaching position was at Trinity College, Hartford, ending with a glorious summer teaching monument drawing in Rome.
Bob won numerous awards and exhibited his drawings and paintings widely. They can be viewed online: www.artistrobertmorris.com and www.foltzgallery.com
The family wishes to thank the extraordinary loving caregivers at Artis Senior Living and the VNA Health Hospice, who all helped him go gentle into that good night.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be sent to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, PO Box 200, Guilford, CT 06437, or the Madison Land Trust, MLCT, PO Box 561, Madison, CT 06443.
