Morris Graves

born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910; died Loleta, California, 2001

BiographyMorris Graves was born in Fox Valley, Oregon; his family moved to Seattle in 1911. As a teenager, he sailed to Asia which had a major impact on his personal aesthetic. He spent much of his professional life in Seattle and La Conner, Washington, sharing a studio for awhile with Guy Anderson. His first one-man exhibition was in 1936 at the Seattle Art Museum.He also worked for the WPA in 1939. In 1942, his paintings were part of the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Americas 1942" exhibit, bringing Graves national recognition. In September 1954, Life Magazine did an article on "The Mystic Painters of the Northwest," featuring Graves, and including Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, and Mark Tobey--the artists who came to be known as the Northwest School. From 1954 through 1964, Graves lived in Ireland and sculpted. In later years Graves moved to Loleta, California.

Person TypeIndividual

Terms