From Carla Becker:
This show is a tribute to my parents, Jean Morrison and Fred Becker who lived and worked in Amherst from 1968 to 2004. While my mother was primarily a painter, she was one of a few women artists who worked at the Atelier 17 Print Studio in the late 1940’s.
My parents met at the Atelier 17 Printmaking studio in New York City in 1946. Originally from Paris, Stanley William Hayter the director of Atelier 17 moved to New York when World War II broke out in Europe. It was a meeting place of artists emigrating from Europe to escape the war and American artists. It was known for its cutting edge experimentation in printmaking.
Fred was already an established printmaker having worked on the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935-39 when the project was shut down. He connected with the Atelier in the early 1940’s and returned in 1945 after his stint in the army. He was considered one of the expert printers and helped print works by Miro and Tanguy.
Jean had studied painting and theatre at Sarah Lawrence College but moved to New York to pursue her dreams in the early ‘40s. She joined the American Red Cross during the war and performed theatre for the enlisted men in England. After the war, she found her way to the Atelier through artists she shared a studio with.
In 1948, Fred was offered a professorship at Washington University in St. Louis to create the Printmaking Department that continues to thrive today. My parents married in 1949. Jean taught painting in the Art School’s Night School.
In 1968 the family moved to Amherst when Fred joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts. He retired in 1986. Jean taught in the UMass Continuing Education Division from 1972-86. In 1972 Jean continued her education and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from UMass in 1978. She became very active in University and Amherst town activities. Always interested in women’s education, she was one of the founders of Everywoman’s Center at the University. Jean was on the Amherst Public Arts Commission and was the initial director of the Burnett Gallery in Jones Library.
Both Fred and Jean are represented by Dolan Maxwell Gallery in Philadelphia.
Their works are held in many major museums in the US and abroad.
About Hope & Feathers Framing and Gallery:
Hope & Feathers offers expert custom framing to artists, art lovers, and anyone looking to preserve and display their favorite things. The staff are highly skilled designers and have been crafting one-of-a-kind frames for over three decades. They also offer in-house archival printing and photo restoration services, and feature local artists in monthly exhibits in their gallery space.