For the week of November 25, 2024.
On December 1, 1881, Frederick Cleveland Morgan was born to a prominent Scottish Canadian family in Montréal, Quebec. An avid art collector and naturalist, he played a vital role in transforming the Art Association of Montreal into the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
F. Cleveland Morgan was the son of Anna Elizabeth Lyman and James Morgan, Jr. of the merchant firm Henry Morgan & Co. An eye injury at the age of seven resulted in sight loss for many months. During that time, he was given objects of tactile interest, such as seashells and minerals. As his eyesight improved, he began to collect stamps, coins, butterflies, moths, and eggs. He and his brothers created a museum in their home complete with classification catalogues and special display cases.
Morgan visited many museums and expanded his collection while at school in England. These interests laid the groundwork for an undergraduate degree in natural sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1903. In 1904 he completed a master’s degree in zoology at McGill University. He was unable to pursue a career in natural history because of persistent eyestrain caused by use of a microscope. From 1904 to 1952, he worked for his family’s company.
However, Morgan continued to cultivate his lifelong interest in art with trips to galleries, museums, churches, and historical sites in Europe. In 1906 he married Elizabeth (Bessie) Marcia Thaxter Shaw, who shared his love of art and travel. Together, they raised three children. When he joined the Art Association of Montreal in 1907, Morgan already possessed a significant decorative arts collection that included ceramics, wood and metal work, glass, silver, and early textiles from around the world.
In 1916 he convinced the Association of the need for a room dedicated to the decorative arts. He argued that fine examples of crafts and industrial arts would benefit the city’s growing number of technical teaching programs. Over time, he donated more than a thousand items, acquired at least 6,000 more, and developed collections that represented the global history of decorative arts. His work shifted the mandate of the Association, leading in 1949 to the formation of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux arts de Montréal after 1977). He became the largest donor in the museum’s history.
Morgan also remained interested in natural history. In 1945, he negotiated the transfer of family property and other lands to McGill University to create the Morgan Arboretum, one of Canada’s largest urban forests. He was also known for alpine rock garden design and iris hybridization. A founding member of the American Iris Society, he was honoured in 1951 by the creation of the prestigious Morgan Award. Morgan was Canada’s representative to the Royal Horticultural Society (London) from 1944 until his death in 1962.
