Biography

Morton was an abstract painter as well as a designer and producer of fabrics. Born in Carlisle, after studying mathematics for a year at Edinburgh University and briefly attending Oxford University, he returned and joined the family’s textile firm ‘Edinburgh Weavers’ in 1932. Through his role as artistic director, and eventually chairman, Morton became acquainted with many contemporary artists, particularly Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. A pioneer of Modernism in Britain, Morton began buying modernist art in 1936 and the following year unveiled a range of ‘Constructivist Fabrics’. His work as a painter, and especially as a textile designer and weaver, was significant and is represented in many important public collections.