Morris Atkinson Blackburn
American (1902-1979)
Born in Philadephia in 1902, painter, etcher, engraver, lithographer and serigrapher Morris Blackburn began his studies at the Graphic Sketch Club and Philadelphia School of Industrial Art and later studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with Arthur B. Carles, Jr. Blackburn was a member of the Society of Independent Artists, National Academy of Design, American Watercolor Society and Audubon Society of Artists. He was the recipient of numerous prizes, awards and grants, including a Guggenheim fellowship, Zimmerman prize and two Cresson traveling scholarships. With more than forty one-man shows in his lifetime, Blackburn participated in numerous exhibitions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Whitney Museum of American Art.
Blackburn taught at the Tyler School of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His works are held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Library of Congress, Butler Institute of American Art, Woodmere Art Museum, and Carnegie Institute, among others.
Best known for his ingenious use of printmaking materials and techniques, “Monhegan Light” showcases example of Blackburn’s innovative, mid-twentieth century modernist style.