The Hugh Morton Jr. Courtyard was dedicated on May 19 before Morton family members, friends, faculty and staff.
The courtyard is the latest addition to the Hugh Morton Jr. Art Collection on campus, which began in 1996 as a gift from Morton family friend Bob Timberlake, and is supported by the family. The courtyard is the first living artwork in the collection.
There are now 46 pieces of art in othe collection,
including p
aintings, photographs, prints, hand-made books, ceramics, fiber
arts, and the courtyard. Each year a committee of students and faculty visit different art venues and choose art for the collection.
Present for the dedication were Mrs. Pansy Morton, Upper School Spanish instructor, and her son Jack. They cut the yellow ribbon to officially open the garden, with assistance from Head of School Doreen Kelly, Fine Arts Director Dr. David McChesney, Joyce Fillip, visual art instructor, and Tom Hunter, who designed the garden and was Morton's friend during his days at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The low, sand-colored stone walls that curve along the gravel pathway are similar to those on the UNC campus. The sitting walls and crushed gravel in the pathway are both made from Chatham County Field Stone, the same stone used in the walls at Carolina. In fact, Smitty Smith, a friend of Hunter’s and the man who built the sitting walls at Carolina, has also constructed the walls in the Morton Courtyard.
Guests enjoyed a reception in the garden following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and instrumental music was performed by the Seventh Grade String Ensemble and the Eighth Grade String Ensemble.