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Artists›Morris Graves

Morris Graves

Morris Graves

Artist

WA-00027369

DrawingExpressionism

Representation

None documented

33

Institutional Exhibitions

29

Works in Collection

51

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ1693440 ULAN500010825

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Watercolors: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1989

No image

A Penthouse Aviary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980–1981

No image

Gifts of Drawing

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

The Stage Show

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Between World Wars: Drawing in Europe and America

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Works on Paper

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1973

No image

Drawn in America

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

No image

The Artist as Adversary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

American Drawings and Watercolors: A Selection from the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1969–1970

No image

The Object Transformed

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1966

No image

Modern Allegories

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1961–1962

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2309
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Morris Graves was an American painter whose works combined abstraction with naturalistic observation of birds, insects, and aquatic life. Working primarily in gouache and watercolor on paper, he developed a lyrical, introspective visual language that emerged from his engagement with Pacific Northwest landscape and Asian aesthetics. Active from the 1930s through the 1990s, Graves pursued a sustained inquiry into the relationship between consciousness and the natural world, resisting both pure abstraction and literal representation.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Expressionism

Medium

Drawing

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (29)

1957 · Brush and black ink wash and gold leaf on paper

43 in. × 24 1/2 in. (109.2 × 62.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1954 · Sumi ink on paper

16 in. × 15 3/8 in. (40.6 × 39.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Spirit Bird Transporting Minnow from Stream to Stream

1953 · Tempera, ink, wash, metallic paint, and chalk on paper

24 3/4 × 42 7/8 in. (62.9 × 108.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bird Calling Down a Hole

Bird Calling Down a Hole

1950 · Brush and black ink and gray wash, with charcoal, on ivory laid paper

30 × 30.2 cm (11 13/16 × 11 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Individual State of the World

The Individual State of the World

1947 · Tempera on mulberry paper

30 1/4 x 24 7/8" (76.8 x 63.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1944 · screenprint

Cleveland Museum of Art

Wounded Scoter, No. 2

1944 · watercolor

Overall: 48 x 75.9 cm (18 7/8 x 29 7/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Joyous Young Pine

Joyous Young Pine

1944 · Watercolor and gouache on paper on fabric

53 5/8 x 27" (136.2 x 68.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Bird in the Spirit

1943 · Opaque watercolor on paper

24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bat Dancing for a Slug

Bat Dancing for a Slug

1943 · Watercolor and gouache on mulberry paper

23 7/8 x 29 3/4" (60.9 x 75.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Crow

1942 · Charcoal on paper

26 7/8 x 17 7/8" (68.4 x 45.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Owl of the Inner Eye

Owl of the Inner Eye

1941 · Tempera on transparentized paper

20 5/8 x 36 5/8" (52.6 x 93 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1941 · Gouache and watercolor on mulberry paper

31 x 26" (78.7 x 66 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Little-Known Bird of the Inner Eye

Little-Known Bird of the Inner Eye

1941 · Tempera on transparentized paper

20 3/4 x 36 5/8" (52.8 x 93.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Unnamed Bird of the Inner Eye

Unnamed Bird of the Inner Eye

1941 · Tempera and gouache on transparentized paper

composition: 19 3/8 × 30 1/2" (49.2 × 77.5 cm); sheet: 22 × 34" (55.9 × 86.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Fledgling

1940 · Gouache and watercolor on mulberry paper

10 3/8 x 21 3/4" (26.3 x 55.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Blind Bird

1940 · Gouache and watercolor on mulberry paper

30 1/8 x 27" (76.5 x 68.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Nestling

1940 · Gouache and watercolor on mulberry paper

26 3/4 x 29 7/8" (68 x 76.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1938 · Tempera with traces of graphite on paper, mounted on cardboard

Paper board: 28 in. × 32 3/4 in. × 1/8 in. (71.1 × 83.2 × 0.3 cm) Sheet: 26 13/16 × 30 3/4 in. (68.1 × 78.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Papal Nightfall

1938 · Pencil on paper

sheet, approx.: 25 × 20" (63.5 × 50.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Snake and Moon

1938 · Gouache and watercolor on mulberry paper

25 1/4 x 29 5/8" (64.3 x 75.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

In the Moonlight

In the Moonlight

1938 · Tempera and watercolor on mulberry paper

25 x 30 1/8" (63.5 x 76.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

French Nightfall Piece

French Nightfall Piece

1938 · Pencil and colored ink on paper

23 7/8 x 20 3/8" (60.9 x 51.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

English Nightfall Piece

English Nightfall Piece

1938 · Pencil and colored ink on paper

23 7/8 x 20 3/8" (60.7 x 51.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 29 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

29 published of 48 catalogued · 38 with image

MoMA
19 publishedof 38 catalogued35 img
The Met
5 published
Art Institute Chicago
3 published3 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
2 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 2)

2 entries · 1 sources

Time of Change
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Wounded Scoter, No. 2
1944 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Spring Bouquet (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Spring Bouquet (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

6

Movements1

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago Christie's

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction