Unforgettable

 

One of the most unforgettable people in my family tree is Miss Georgia Weston Morgan (18 Dec 1869 - 4 Dec 1951) a daughter of my great-uncle Dr. Robert Withers Morgan of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Little is known of Georgia's early life, but at the age of 29 she enrolled at Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg and began a formal study of art.  Upon graduation, she was appointed an assistant professor there. 

In 1909 or 1910, she accepted a scholarship to the Academie Julien in Paris, France, and shared a studio with other artists on the Boulevard Raspail.  There she perfected her technique in producing miniature portraits.   The neighborhood was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises," in which he wrote " . . . Boulevard Raspail always made dull riding . . ."  It is also home to a controversial Rodin statue of Balzac swathed in a large cape as he stands guard over the city's prostitutes.

Unfortunately, Georgia was forced to abandon her work in miniatures due to rapid eyesight deterioration and turned to larger media as outlets for her creative talent.  It was at the nearby Restaurant Bound that she met Pennsylvania artist Birge Harrison, a major influence on her work.  She made his book "Landscape Painting" the standard text in her later teaching career. 

Four drawings, three miniatures, and three sketchbooks survive from Georgia's days in Paris and are preserved in the archives at Randolph-Macon.  

She returned to Lynchburg at the outbreak of World War I and set up a studio on Church Street where she gave private lessons.  Her "Blue Door Studio" was for many years a favorite gathering place for the city's art community.  

In 1915, she also resumed her career as a college professor, joined the faculty of Lynchburg College and taught courses in painting, drawing, art history, interior decoration, and crafts.  

Over the years, Georgia's work was featured in several exhibitions at Gloucester, Massachusetts; New York City; and Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia.  But, her first major domestic exhibition was at St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1920.  

She was a charter member of the Lynchburg Art Club, serving as its president for several years.  And, in 1932, was a founder of the Lynchburg Civic Art League, which sponsored an annual exhibition of work by local artists--a tradition that continues to this day.  

Miss Georgia never married or had any children of her own.  But tales of her travels and eccentricities have survived for us all to enjoy today.  Some of the most repeated tales are about her lack of concern for fashion.  She frequently kept spare paintbrushes in her hair and wore her paint spattered smock well beyond the confines of her studio.  

First-time visitors to her studio had to be warned never to drink tea there, because she also used her teacups to clean her paintbrushes.

Most famously, she never refused an invitation to Sunday supper with her brother Peyton's family--especially if fried chicken was on the menu.  When she thought no one was looking, she would sneak a piece or two into her purse "for later."

Georgia's legacy is celebrated annually with a memorial art show in Lynchburg.  For more information on that, check out this link: https://lynchburgartclub.org/georgia-morgan-art-show.