Robert Claiborne Morris (American, born July 5, 1961) is an artist, author, and visual storyteller whose work explores the intersection of history, memory, human experience, and humanity's evolving understanding of the universe. Drawing upon a career that has spanned the arts, journalism, public service, and international travel, Morris creates paintings, mixed-media works, written narratives, and immersive visual experiences that seek to transform complex ideas into accessible and emotionally resonant forms.

Born in Washington, D.C., Morris traveled extensively throughout the continental United States during his childhood, developing an early fascination with landscape, storytelling, and the diverse histories that shape places and people. He studied painting at Sidwell Friends School in Washington and later at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he began developing a distinctive approach that merges visual art and written narrative. Throughout his career, Morris has pursued the belief that images and words together can deepen public understanding of both historical and contemporary realities.

His writings have appeared in publications including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Times-Picayune, and The Boston Globe. His artwork has been exhibited in museums, galleries, libraries, and cultural institutions throughout the United States, engaging audiences with subjects ranging from personal memory and social history to questions of identity, place, and collective experience.

Morris is widely recognized for his collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Douglas A. Blackmon on the nationally touring exhibition and project Slavery by Another Name. Working alongside Blackmon, filmmaker Sam Pollard, the late artist Thornton Dial, and numerous cultural institutions, Morris created paintings and assemblages that helped audiences confront the hidden history of post-Civil War forced labor and racial injustice in America. The project traveled to museums and cultural centers across the country and remains one of the most significant examples of his commitment to using visual art as a tool for public understanding and historical dialogue.

In 2012, Morris was honored with a major solo exhibition at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Since then, his work has been exhibited in museums and institutions in cities including Atlanta, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Savannah, Washington, D.C., and throughout the American South.

Today, Morris's practice is entering a new phase through an ongoing multidisciplinary project titled Dear Universe. Combining daily written reflections with painting, watercolor, and mixed-media works, the project explores contemporary discoveries in astrophysics, quantum theory, cosmology, and humanity's place within an expanding universe. Inspired by concepts such as Calabi-Yau manifolds, particle physics, cosmic inflation, parallel realities, and the search for a unified theory of existence, Morris seeks to create visual metaphors that help broader audiences engage with some of the most challenging scientific ideas of our time.

Working from studios, vessels, and temporary locations around the world, Morris frequently draws inspiration from landscapes, coastlines, islands, cities, and the natural environments through which he travels. Whether examining hidden chapters of human history or contemplating the mysteries of the cosmos, his work remains rooted in a lifelong commitment to exploration, curiosity, and the power of art to expand perception.

Over the course of his career as an artist, writer, and public communicator, Morris has sought to preserve the human spirit, illuminate overlooked histories, celebrate the beauty of the natural world, and encourage viewers and readers to reconsider their place within both history and the universe.

PAST SHOWS / ACCOLADES
2025 - JANUARY / MARCH: Slavery by Another Name - Gallery Espresso / Savannah, GA
2024 - DECEMBER: Savannah River Ebb & Flow - Downstairs Gallery / Savannah, GA
2023 - OCTOBER: Outward Bound - Ships of the Sea Museum / Savannah, GA
2023 - MARCH / JUNE: Slavery by Another Name - York W. Bailey Museum at Penn Center / St. Helena Island, SC
2016 - MAY: Departures - Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum at William Scarbrough House & Gardens / Savannah, GA
2014 - MARCH / MAY: Savannah Calling - Ships of the Sea Museum / Savannah, GA
2014 - FEBRUARY: Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages - Stanback Museum, South Carolina State University / Orangeburg, SC
2013 -JUNE / NOVEMBER: Hush the Fields - Cincinnati Museum Center / Cincinnati, OH
2013 - MARCH / JUNE: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center / Cincinnati, OH
2012 NOVEMBER - 2013 JANUARY: NBAF Annual Study Tour To Penn Center - 30th Heritage Days Celebration / St. Helena Insland, SC
2012 - JULY: Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages - National Black Arts Festival - Mason Murer Fine Art Gallery / Atlanta, GA
2012 - SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER: Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages - Auburn Avenue Research Library / Atlanta, GA
2012 - JANUARY / MARCH: Slavery by Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages - Telfair Academy / Savannah, GA
2010 - FEBRUARY: Re-Enslavement Revisited: An Exhibition of the Art of Terry Dixon & Robert Morris - Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library / Washington, D.C.
2009 - MAY: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II - The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum / Savannah, GA