Albert Reynolds Morse (October 20, 1914 – August 15, 2000)
was an American businessman and philanthropist. His wife, Eleanor Reese Morse (October 21, 1912 – July 1, 2010)
was also an American philanthropist. They founded the
Salvador Dalí Museum
The Salvador Dalí Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. It is located on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront by 5th Avenue Southeast, Bay Shore Drive, and Dan Wheldon Way ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
.
Early life and education
Reynolds Morse was born in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
to Bradish P. and Anna Morse. His father ran the specialist mining and machinery concern, Morse Brothers Machinery Company. His mother was the daughter of pioneer Albert Eugene Reynolds.
Reynolds Morse graduated
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
from the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...
. He then took an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
at the
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
. For a decade after his MBA, Reynolds worked in industry before starting his own firm, Injection Molders Supply Company in 1949.
Reese Morse was the daughter of
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
pharmaceuticals manufacturer George Reese. After graduating from the
Hathaway Brown School
Hathaway Brown, commonly referred to as HB, is an all-girls private school located in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The school serves pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students.
Hathaway Brown is a member of the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, ...
, she earned a bachelor's degree in music from
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution.
History
Rollins Colle ...
in
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winter Park was fo ...
in 1937.
She was initiated into the Florida Gamma chapter of
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...
chapter at
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution.
History
Rollins Colle ...
.
Occupational life
Reynolds Morse had many business, writing and collecting interests in addition to the collection of
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
's paintings which he and Reese Morse built up and to running Injection Molders Supply Company. For instance, he published "Injection Molding News"; added to the rock collection of the Denver Natural History Museum where he was a trustee, and he collected
George Elbert Burr manuscript materials which he donated to the
Denver Public Library
The Denver Public Library is the public library system of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The system includes the Denver Central Library, located in the Golden Triangle district of Downtown Denver, as well as 25 branch locations and t ...
.
Reynolds Morse also authored ''George Elbert Burr: Etcher of the American West'' and published an anthology of his own, which he called ''Some Fifty Unprofessional Poems'', as well as ''Gold Links Tailings'' in memory of his maternal grandfather. Reynolds Morse collected and wrote about the works of
M. P. Shiel
Matthew Phipps Shiell (21 July 1865 – 17 February 1947), known as M. P. Shiel, was a British writer. His legal surname remained "Shiell" though he adopted the shorter version as a ''de facto'' pen name.
He is remembered mainly for supernatura ...
. Reynolds' ''
The Works of M. P. Shiel'' was published in 1948; he later turned this work into a four-tome set and added ''The Quest for Redonda and The New King''. In 1989 Reynolds donated his Shiel collection to
Olin Library at Rollins College.
The Morses' diligent collecting and their friendship with
Gala
Gala may refer to:
Music
* ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush
*''Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman
*GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups
*''Gala'', a 1986 album by Th ...
and
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
produced a valuable art collection that is now housed in the
Salvador Dalí Museum
The Salvador Dalí Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. It is located on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront by 5th Avenue Southeast, Bay Shore Drive, and Dan Wheldon Way ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
. The Salvador Dalí Museum is said to be the world's most comprehensive collection of Dalí's works.
[Lubar, Robert S., ''Dalí: the Salvador Dalí Museum Collection'', Bullfinch Press, ]Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...
Inc., Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, 2000, page ''v'' Dedication
The year of their marriage the Morses began their long friendship with Dalí and on March 21, 1943, acquired their first Dalí work, ''
Daddy Longlegs of the Evening - Hope!''; early in April 1943 they acquired ''
The Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet's "Angelus"''. Over time, becoming patrons of Dalí, the Morses acquired works by Dalí which they found both captivating and intriguing. Their absorption by the artist's work led Reynolds to author numerous studies of Dalí and his ''œuvre'' and Eleanor to translate from
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
to
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
numerous books about Dalí and his ''œuvre''. In 1969, the Morses purchased ''
The Hallucinogenic Toreador
''The Hallucinogenic Toreador'' (Spanish: El Torero Alucinógeno) is a 1969–1970 multi-leveled oil painting by Salvador Dalí which employs the canons of his particular interpretation of surrealist thought. It is currently being exhibited at t ...
'', before it was completed.
From 1971 to 1980, the Morses' considerable Dalí collection was on show in
Beachwood, Ohio
Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040.
History
The land that eventually became Beachwood was originally part of the Connecticut We ...
at the Salvador Dalí Museum, which was established there in a wing of their business premises. During that time the collection grew and required larger accommodation.
The Morses began the search for a new, permanent home for their collection. After seeing an article in the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', "U.S. Art World Dillydallies over Dalí",
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
attorney James W. Martin persuaded local leaders to approach the Morses to choose St. Petersburg. With the financial support of the City of St. Petersburg and the
State of Florida
Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...
, the collection was housed in the
Salvador Dalí Museum
The Salvador Dalí Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. It is located on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront by 5th Avenue Southeast, Bay Shore Drive, and Dan Wheldon Way ...
, formerly a warehouse on the waterfront, which opened in March 1982. A new, larger and more storm-secure museum near the current one, opened in 1-11-11 (at 11:11 am).
"Sharing their knowledge and understanding of Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
and his art has been a lifelong mission for this dedicated couple."
Personal life
The Morses married in 1943. They had one son, Brad.
Reynolds Morse died on August 15, 2000, in
Seminole, Florida
Seminole is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,364 at the 2020 census.
History
The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after the Seminole tribe whose descendant ...
, after a long illness. He was 85.
Reese Morse died on July 1, 2010, in St. Petersburg, Florida, of natural causes. She was 97.
References
External links
Salvador Dalí Museum websiteSmithsonian ''Archives of American Art''referring to Mr Morse's Journals, 1956–1973, in which (amongst other topics) the subject of lending art works, the carelessness of the museums, and insurance issues are discussed.
Olin Library, FloridaThe A. Reynolds Morse collection is located in the Shiel Room of the Olin Library, 1000 Holt Avenue, Rollins College, Winter Park FL 32789, 407-646-2521.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, A. Reynolds, and Eleanor R. Morse
Married couples
American manufacturing businesspeople
American philanthropists
American art collectors
Harvard Business School alumni
Businesspeople from Cleveland
Businesspeople from Denver
Rollins College alumni
University of Colorado alumni
20th-century American businesspeople