Avocation to Vocation: Prints by F. Townsend Morgan

The artist F. Townsend Morgan (1883–1965) wrote that he had pursued art as an avocation (or hobby) from 1915 to 1934, before turning professional. He was born in Brooklyn, into a family that fell on hard times during the Great Depression. He found employment with various New Deal art programs from 1934 to 1942. Morgan also traveled widely, making prints for his own enjoyment and for hire in places including Philadelphia, the US Virgin Islands and Key West, Florida. This exhibition was the first to focus entirely on his work since his death and included about 30 prints of sailboats (one of his favorite subjects), architecture and natural beauty. The museum published an issue of its Bulletin including an essay on Morgan and images of his work.