Talk by Art Historian Penny C. Morrill (Newcomb ’69) on William Spratling and Mexican Silver

On November 10, the LAL and the Emeritus Club of the Tulane Alumni Association will co-host a talk by art historian and alumna Penny C. Morrill who will speak on early 20th century Mexican art and the silver design renaissance around the mining town of Taxco.  Titled Mexican Silver Captures the Light of Genius, the talk will be a hybrid event held in the newly expanded LAL seminar room; Dr. Morrill will deliver the talk to a local audience in person, and Tulane alums from around the world can attend virtually.  A leading scholar on Mexican silver, especially the work of William Spratling and other Taxco-based designers of the first half of the 20th century, Dr. Morrill has delivered numerous talks on the subject in the U.S. and internationally.  But what makes the Tulane event special is that she will make use of unique collections, original documents, and silver pieces housed at the LAL to structure and illustrate her talk.  The LAL houses the most extensive collection of primary and unique sources on Spratling and the Mexican silver renaissance, including the Sutherland-Taxco Collection and the Ulrich Family Collection of William Spratling Papers, acquired with generous support from the Zemurray Foundation and Jim and Penny Morrill.  In addition, we also house an extraordinary collection of Mexican silver pieces that complements the design drawings in the collection, a generous gift from Henry and Pamela Bain in 2021.  Without a doubt, this will be a special presentation, and we are grateful to Penny Morrill for her longstanding engagement with Tulane and the Latin American Library.