ENROLLED
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 30
BY REPRESENTATIVE HALL
A RESOLUTION
To commend Morris Taft Thomas for his many accomplishments as a Louisiana artist.
WHEREAS, Alexandria artist Morris Taft Thomas is well-known for his sculptures
and paintings that grace many Louisiana spaces; his works have been collected by such
luminaries as President Jimmy Carter, the late South African President Nelson Mandela, and
blues great B.B. King; and
WHEREAS, noted artist Morris Taft Thomas is a native of New Orleans; he attended
Southern University Laboratory School and received his bachelor's and master's degrees
from Southern University in Baton Rouge; he continued to pursue studies at Trinity
University, McNeese State University, and Louisiana State University; and
WHEREAS, in Alexandria, Mr. Thomas taught junior high school for twelve years;
he served as a principal in the Rapides Parish school system for twenty-five years, and later
was an adjunct professor of art history at Louisiana State University of Alexandria; and
WHEREAS, his art ranges from realism to contemporary abstraction; Mr. Thomas
works in many media, including stone, wood, clay, paint, and pencil; his inspiration is often
drawn from a combination of African art and his native Louisiana heritage; and
WHEREAS, Morris Taft Thomas's works have won over one hundred awards; in
2001, he was selected as a representative of the state of Louisiana to create a Christmas
ornament to be featured on the White House Christmas tree; in 2008, he received the
Governor's Art Award from Governor Mike Foster, naming him "Louisiana Professional
Artist of the Year"; and
WHEREAS, some of Mr. Thomas's public works are located at Grambling State
University, the Alexandria Museum of Art, the Southern University Museum of Art, the
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Abbeville Museum of Art, the White House Archives, and throughout the city of Alexandria;
and
WHEREAS, he is also a gifted author and dynamic poet; he is the author of
Contributions of Negro Artists in Louisiana and Eminent Black Artists in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Morris Taft Thomas's work occupies a special place in the artistic
landscape of his native Louisiana and America as a whole.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Morris Taft Thomas for his many
accomplishments as a Louisiana artist and does hereby recognize and record for posterity
the special place he holds in the annals of art history in the state of Louisiana and throughout
the world.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Morris Taft Thomas.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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