Carl Morris • Glacial White #1, 1962

Glacial White #1, 1962

Carl A. Morris (May 12, 1911 – June 3, 1993) was an American painter, known for his transition from figurative to abstract art. Born in Yorba Linda, California, Morris studied at the Chicago Art Institute and in Paris and Vienna. During the Great Depression, he opened the Spokane Art Center through the Federal Art Project, where he met his future wife, sculptor Hilda Grossman. The couple moved to Seattle in 1940, where they became close friends with the abstract expressionist Mark Tobey.

In 1941, Morris was commissioned to create murals for the post office in Eugene, Oregon, and he later settled in Portland, Oregon, where his career flourished. Though he frequently visited New York to meet influential artists like Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell, Morris and his wife chose not to relocate, preferring to avoid the commercialization of the art scene. Morris became renowned for his Abstract Impressionist works, and his paintings are held in major collections such as the Portland Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work was also shown at prestigious venues like the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim in New York.

Throughout his life, Morris remained committed to artistic exploration and was admired for his distinctive contributions to abstract art.