a strong foundation - Maryland Institute College of Art

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I have seen first-hand the challenges that artists face, and the
extraordinary sacrifices many make in order to do the work
that they are driven to pursue. My late husband, the painter
Morris Louis, peeled vegetables in a restaurant, mowed grass
in a cemetery, and welcomed gifts of leftover paint from a
friend who had a shop in NewYork. His family made sacrifices
so that he could be educated at the Maryland Institute,
and in his early career, Morris did whatever was necessary in
order to maintain a studio and to work. Often, we focus on
the rewards enjoyed by those few artists who gain public
acclaim, and forget about the difficult path they traveled to
achieve that success.
From my own life, I know that those who choose to be art
educators share a similar set of challenges. They cannot
expect great financial rewards in their careers as teachers,
yet they—both as artists and as educators—require the most
rigorous and robust educational preparation.
With each painting, each sculpture, the artist puts an inner
self out on display. He must apply for his passport again and
again—the passport of public approval. The young artist is
constantly plagued with the need to be unique. He worries
about developing his own signature because he wants his
work to be recognized as unmistakably different from all
others. He endures loneliness and anxiety in order to give
himself away.This task is difficult enough.
This is why I have supported Maryland Institute College of
Art by endowing scholarships for artists and art educators,
and grants to allow faculty to pursue their own projects and
professional development. I understand that the Morris Louis
Scholarship in Painting is one of the most prestigious awards
for undergraduate painters in the country. Some of the
artists who have held this scholarship have gone on to have
some success, with exhibitions in major galleries, even before
graduation. If this financial support
THE YOUNG ARTIST IS CONSTANTLY PLAGUED WITH THE NEED
provides some talented young artists
TO BE UNIQUE. HE WORRIES ABOUT DEVELOPING HIS OWN
with the space and freedom to do
SIGNATURE BECAUSE HE WANTS HIS WORK TO BE RECOG- work that is fresh and new, then it has
NIZED AS UNMISTAKABLY DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS.
achieved the purpose I hoped for it.
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