Morang and Friends
Matthews Gallery | December 2014
When Alfred Morang was a teenager he took to the nightclubs of Boston with his trusty violin. He had been a sickly child, bedridden and unable to attend school, but his mother and uncle recognized his fiery creativity and hired private music and painting tutors. Morang grew from a talented tot to a full-fledged young Renaissance Man, and his passionate musical performances earned him enough money to thrive. It was the beginning of a lifelong artistic journey.
A century later, Morang’s fiddle launched yet another adventure. Santa Fe art collector Paul Parker was researching Morang’s life when he came upon a letter by the artist’s ex-wife Dorothy. After Morang’s tragic death in a studio fire, Dorothy was having a hard time finding an heir to his worldly possessions. She’d finally contacted a distant relative, and was arranging the shipment of a few things collected from the ruins of Morang’s Canyon Road casita.
The letter was Parker’s first clue in a treasure hunt that spanned the nation and stretched to the farthest branches of the Morang family tree. At the end of the trail was a treasure trove that connected the dots of Morang’s life, from his early years as a celebrated musician and writer to his time as an iconic Santa Fe artist. Morang’s well-worn violin, blackened by the fire, is perhaps Parker’s most striking find. It appears alongside Morang’s artwork in Morang and Friends.
Press
“Also on exhibit are several of Morang’s personal effects, such as his violin, scorched in the fatal 1958 fire, as well as sketches, photographs, and a few wine and whiskey jugs the artist probably painted to make a quick buck (Morang often sold his artwork cheaply) — all from private collections. These are the sorts of holdings museums are more likely to show.”
— Michael Abatemarco, Pasatiempo
“Now, at Matthews Gallery, we get to enjoy an intimate sort of visual biography of the man and artist with assorted artifacts, writings, letters (even his violin, sadly in need of repair), and all that exuberant work. And there is a great deal of it, all wildly energetic, expressive, and comfortably, vaguely familiar.”
— Tom Collins, Albuquerque Journal North
My contributions: Assistant curatorial under Lawrence Matthews and Paul Parker, didactics, catalog essay, press relations, blogging