Ann Orr Morris
Ann Orr Morris (August 5, 1924 – August 15, 1987) was an American silversmith, goldsmith, and enamelist. She died in her hometown of Athens, Georgia, the victim of a triple homicide.
Also recorded as Ann Montgomery Orr · Ann Orr · Ann Montegomery Orr
Ann Orr Morris
- Name
- Ann Orr Morris
- Born
- August 5, 1924
- Birthplace
- Athens, Georgia, US
- Died
- August 15, 1987
- Occupation
- Silversmith, goldsmith, and enamelist
- Nationality
- United States
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Ann Orr Morris (August 5, 1924 – August 15, 1987) was an American silversmith, goldsmith, and enamelist. She died in her hometown of Athens, Georgia, the victim of a triple homicide.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ann Orr Morris • Born — August 5, 1924 • Birthplace — Athens, Georgia, US • Died — August 15, 1987 • Occupation — Silversmith, goldsmith, and enamelist
Life and work
Life and work
After graduating from the University of Georgia (UGA), Morris studied the art of metalwork in New York and in Europe. Margaret de Patta, Philip Morton, and Adda Husted Andersen all influenced Orr Morris's style. She served a four-year apprenticeship under Husted-Andersen and the two spent an additional brief time working together at the David-Andersen Factory in Oslo, Norway. Though best known for her metal jewelry creations, Orr Morris was also a skilled watercolorist. Describing Orr Morris's work, University of Georgia professor and metalworker Rob Jackson said, "One was, at first, struck, by the apparent simplicity of the objects. Deeply rooted in the 1950's search for form, there is almost a sense of innocence in the work." In 1957, Orr Morris attended a writer's workshop at the University of Georgia led by writer Flannery O'Connor. Her recollections of O'Connor were featured in a 1991 article in Athens Magazine. Nashville-born crafter of gold and silver jewelry and maker of sterling silver holloware, Conn Harris West, studied with Orr Morris. Silversmith Charles Rowland was also her student.
Identity
Identity
Ann Orr Morris is recorded as artist, goldsmith and silversmith.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1924
Ann Orr Morris born at Athens.
1987
Ann Orr Morris died at Athens.
Death and legacy
On August 15, 1987, at age 63, Orr Morris was attacked with a hatchet by Clinton Bankston Jr., a 16-year-old Athens resident who had killed two other retired University of Georgia (UGA) professors during a burglary four months earlier, in April 1987. The murder happened in the home of Ann's sister, Sally Nathanson, in the Carr's Hill neighborhood. Her sister Nathanson, and her 22-year-old adopted daughter, Helen, were also murdered. The women were found after Morris's husband reported her missing. From September 24 to November 13, 1994, the Georgia Museum of Art held a posthumous exhibit honoring Orr Morris. The museum produced a 69-page catalog, entitled Ann Orr: Silversmith, Goldsmith, & Enamelist, to accompany the exhibition. Orr Morris's close friend, watercolorist Martha Odum (wife of ecologist Eugene Odum) traveled the Southeast to collect jewelry for inclusion in the exhibit. Odum also oversaw the photography of the pieces for the exhibition catalog. Former UGA professor and metalsmith, Gary Noffke served as one of the editors of this catalog. The Ann Orr Morris Memorial Fund provides funds to bring visiting artists to UGA's Lamar Dodd School of Art to deliver lectures and workshops on jewelry-making and metalwork.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sharp, Tom. Murder Charges against High School Dropout Shock Friends. AP NEWS. August 20, 1987.
- 2.Jackson, Rob. Metalsmith '95 Spring: Exhibition Reviews: Ann Orr: Silversmith, Goldsmith, and Enamelist. Ganoksin.
- 3.Jackson, R. (1995). Ann Orr: Silversmith, Goldsmith, and Enamelist. METALSMITH, 2, 51.
- 4.Shearer, Lee. Four exhibitions show past, present, future of the Athens Art Association. Athens Banner-Herald.
- 5.Streight, I. (Ed.). (2002). Flannery O'Connor: An Annotated Reference Guide to Criticism. Timberlane Books.
- 6.American Modernist Jewelers & Silversmiths X - Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks. www.925-1000.com.
- 7.GMOA FY10 Annual Report. Issuu.
- 8.Johnson, Joe. Georgia Supreme Court upholds conviction of man who slaughtered 5 Athens residents when a teen. Classic City News. 2020-01-30.
- 9.Youth, 16, Is Charged In 5 Georgia Murders (Published 1987). The New York Times. 1987-08-18. 0362-4331.
- 10.Ann Orr : silversmith, goldsmith, & enamelist / Lane Coulter, Virginia Lancaster Shields; foreword, William U. Eiland; introduction, Gary Noffke. Smithsonian Institution.
- 11.Craige, B. J. (2002). Eugene Odum: Ecosystem ecologist and environmentalist. University of Georgia Press.
- 12.Jewelry and Metalwork LAMAR DODD SCHOOL OF ART. art.uga.edu.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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