the art of giving THE W. NEWTON MORRIS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
Born in Dublin, Georgia, Willis Newton Morris attended but did not graduate from the University of Georgia.
He remembered it fondly, however, and began having conver- sations with UGA development officers as early as 1984. His first gift to the museum, in 1995, totaled $1,000. In late 2021 the museum received a gift of $4.6 million from the W. New- ton Morris Charitable Foundation and its gifts to the University of Georgia total more than $9 million, showing how seeds planted early can flourish over time. The museum’s relationship with the W. Newton Morris Chari- table Foundation dates back to 1999, when it was created upon Morris’ death. This recent gift is an expression of confidence in everything the museum has achieved in the past 23 years and in its fiscal responsibility. William Underwood Eiland, the museum’s director, knew Morris well. He tells a story about having lunch with Morris in Atlanta, at a restaurant well known for Key lime pie. While waiting on the valet, Eiland says he leaned down to pick up a penny. Morris told him later that if he hadn’t done so, the museum “wouldn’t have gotten a dime.” “Generations of students and audiences will be beholden to Newton for his practical, good sense when it came to his finances,” Eiland said. His bequest to the museum already was transformative, and now the transfer of his funds to the UGA Foundation for the benefit of the museum means we can reach new heights for programming in service to teaching and research. As he would have wanted, visual-arts education is at the center of our mission, and his abiding support will allow us to reach all Georgians with our state-wide programs. As he told me during our discussion of plans for his gift — and I continue to keep it in mind — ‘Do good for people with this money.’” Morris founded the Morris State Bank of Dublin with his father and served as its vice president. He owned and operated radio station WMLT and had numerous other business interests in Dublin and Laurens County, Georgia, including a bus service. He had homes in Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta, Geor- gia; and Highlands, North Carolina, which he decorated with fine period furniture and decorative arts. Morris served on the museum’s Board of Advisors from 1994 to 1998, support- ing numerous special exhibitions, including “Masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture from the Palazzo Venezia, Rome,” in conjunction with the Olympic Games in 1996.
Morris’ passport issued in 1974. His love and appreciation of international travel was a driving force behind his passion to bring the art of other cultures to the UGA and Athens communities.
Morris always wanted his funds to support exhibitions, acqui- sitions, publications and projects in American, European, Asian, Islamic and traditional American folk art. Over the past two decades, the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation has sup- ported exactly those endeavors at the museum, helping make many exhibitions and their associated programming a reality. Award-winning publications from the museum have also bene- fited from the foundation’s regular giving, including 2021’s “Emma Amos: Color Odyssey” and “Extra Ordinary: Magic, Mystery and Imagination in American Realism,” which won awards from the Georgia Association of Museums, South- eastern College Art Conference and Southeastern Museums Conference. Morris was able to travel the world and see exhibitions in the best museums abroad, but it was important to him to provide UGA students with those same opportunities at their own uni- versity. His legacy should allow the museum to do exactly that.
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