Frank James Morgan

Art Brokerage: Frank James Morgan American Artist: b. 1916-1985. Frank James Morgan was a master sculptor. Morgan's life began as childhood trauma. He lost his mother, sisters, several cousins and other close relatives in the 1920s tuberculosis epidemic which spread over the countryside like a strangling blanket. Most of his youth was spent bouncing from distant relatives to total strangers who managed to raise him and his younger brother. His first sculpturing job was a commission for 50 lions carved from Ivory Soap to be used as place settings for a Lion's Club banquet. Finishing High School at the peak of the Great Depression, he felt both fortunate and grateful that he was able to enlist in the Navy. A Kentucky mountain boy, he found vast beauty everywhere near the sea and intuitively felt affinity for the form and function, sleekness, speed and power of warships, especially cruisers A machinist and pattern maker, Frank spent his entire career repairing the broken and mangled ships he admired so much. As early as 1939, Frank began producing the first of the 120 major works of art for which he would become so famous. He worked in exotic woods, such as apitong, jelutong, ash, mahogany, birch, ebony, rose wood and teak. After the War, he mastered other mediums like marble, bronze, cold cast bronze, epoxy, fiber glass and cast stone. At that time he studied with Donal Hord in San Diego and they became fast friends. Morgan's interest in culture and art knew few boundaries. In addition to sculpture and poetry, he became an avid fan of opera and ballet, eventually serving as Historian for the California Ballet Company. In 1980 Frank was honored for his overall body of work as Academic with Gold Medal by the Accademia Italia delle Arti a el Lavori and examples of his sculptures appeared in the Bronzes, Sculptures and Founders Encyclopedia. By 1982 his pieces had been accepted for the sixth consecutive year by the National Sculpture Society and he had won several awards, including the coveted Henry Hering Medal. Although known primarily for female figurative work, his entry "Rhino" won the 1984 Ellen P. Spayer Award at New York's National Academy of Design. Frank's last project was the bow carving of "Queen Califia" for the top-sail schooner Californian out of Dana Point, California. Listings wanted by Art Brokerage.