Tulane University

The Latin American Library of Tulane University has announced the establishment of a new endowment of $20,000, the Jim and Penny Morrill Endowed Fund for Mesoamerican Art History. The endowment is the generous gift of Newcomb alum and art historian, Penny Chittim Morrill (‘69) and her husband, James A. Morrill (‘69), also a Tulane alum. Jim and Penny are longstanding and generous friends of the Latin American Library. In 2004, Penny Morrill also donated the Spratling-Taxco Collection of original design drawings of William Spratling and other prominent silversmiths and designers active in Taxco from the 1930s to the present, to which she continues to add unique pieces. The income of this new endowment is for the acquisition of library materials in any format on Mesoamerican Art History, which is among the core collection focuses of the Library. Jim and Penny Morrill’s gift thus helps ensure the continued growth of the Latin American Library’s historical areas of strength.

Penny Chittim Morrill received her B.A. with a major in Art from Newcomb College in 1969. She then earned a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and a Ph.D from the University of Maryland in 2001. Penny Morrill is the leading authority on the work of William Spratling, a renowned silversmith and former faculty member of the Tulane School of Architecture. In 2002-04, Dr. Morrill curated the highly successful traveling exhibit “Maestros de Plata: William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance,” which was shown at Newcomb Art Gallery. She has also donated to the Latin American Library original design drawings and archival material to establish the Spratling-Taxco Collection. Dr. Morrill has just finished a manuscript on the Taxco silver designer Margot de Taxco and is working on a book on the frescoes of the Casa del Dean in Puebla de los Angeles, Mexico.

James A. Morrill graduated from Tulane University in 1969 with a B.A. in history and received his Master of Science degree in Public Administration from George Washington University in 1977. Mr. Morrill has worked in corporate government relations for the last 30 years, most recently for Lincoln National Corporation. The Morrills currently reside in the Washington, D.C. area.