Morley Hicks

BORN: March 16, 1877 in Picton, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada

DIED: August 9, 1959 in Milwaukee, WI

When Morley Gent Hicks was born, his father Parker Hicks was 43 and his mother, Margaret Palen, was 51.

Morley Hicks came to the U.S. in 1900, and settled in Detroit, Michigan where he met and married Nellie M Robinson on April 26, 1906.

He lived in Detroit for eleven years before eventually moving to Milwaukee in 1911. He began his professional career as a paint chemist at Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company but gradually gave it up in favor of painting.

Hicks studied art at Milwaukee Normal School under Gustave Moeller and George Oberteuffer and at Wisconsin State Normal School under Alexander Mueller from 1921 to 1923. He became a close friend and associate of Moeller. Both were members of the Walrus Club in Milwaukee, and Hicks at one time was president of this organization. He also was a member of the Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors.

His understanding of oil paints led to his interest in easel painting. Being very methodical, he numbered and kept meticulous records of his 1,381 paintings. At first he copied others' works, but then began doing his own compositions.

Hicks was very fond of painting Wisconsin landscapes which were depictions of nature and places. He played with special lighting effects, and liked to capture harbors and shoreline atmospheres on canvas and masonite. His brushwoork was bold, quick, and loose.

He frequently constructed his own frames, usually carving his name into the back which was often painted orange. He numbered and dated almost every painting, as well as indicating the location, title, photographing his work, and adding his residential address.

He was a member of Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors and exhibited often with the organization.  In addition, he exhibited at the Milwaukee Journal Gallery of Art, which operated from 1924-1931.  He also exhibited at the Wisconsin Salon of Art, which was held at the student union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Institute, and other venues.