Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Catharine W. MORRIS
Catherine Morris Wright, a writer, poet, philanthropist and painter whose works in oil and watercolor hang in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, died Wednesday at her estate in Jamestown, R.I. She was 89.
Born in Philadelphia in 1899, Mrs. Wright was educated in private schools in the area and attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1916 to 1918.
She was the daughter of the late Harrison Smith Morris, an author, editor and managing director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1892 till 1905. Mrs. Wright donated the Morris Gallery to the Academy in memory of her father. She was also the widow of Sydney Longstreth Wright, the largest landholder on Conanicut Island, on which Jamestown sits.
Mrs. Wright's love of nature often came through in her paintings, and she had received numerous awards from the Audubon Society for her work. Many of her paintings are on display at the University of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State University, the Moore Institute of Philadelphia and the Allentown Art Museum. Most recently, she was involved with saving the bay that surrounds Conanicut Island.
Her poetry work included two collections, The Simple Nun, published in 1918 and Seaweed, Their Pasture, published in 1946. Her writings have been printed in the Atlantic Monthly and the Saturday Evening Post. She wrote an autobiography as well as biographies of other noted personalities.
Her contributions to the arts included founding the Fox Hill School of Art , the Kit Wright Fund of Rhode Island and the Sydney L. Wright Museum of Jamestown.
She was past president of the Newport Historical Society and a board member of the Redwood Library of Newport. She was a member of the American Water Color Society, the National Academy of Design, the Audubon Artist, the Allied Artists of America and the Newport Art Museum.
She also was past vice president of the Philadelphia Watercolor Club and a member of the Authors League of America, the Poetry Society of America, Virginia Poetry Society and the Audubon Society.
She is survived by a daughter, Anna W. Templeton-Cotill; three sons; William R., Harrison M. and Ellicott; 13 grandchildren and 13 great- grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Fox Hill Farm, in Jamestown, R.I. Burial is private.
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