Each morning, Arlene Burke-Morgan and her husband, Clarence Morgan, prayed together. They drove along the river together, drank coffee together.
Then the couple, both artists, worked side-by-side in their studio.
"There was no physical barrier separating us," Clarence said. While they worked independently, similarities appeared within their artwork, as if in conversation. "Decade after decade after decade, there's a seamless connection that happens," he said.
Arlene, a prolific artist who painted "circles of light" as a reflection of her deep faith, died in the couple's Minneapolis home on Dec. 16, days after their 47th wedding anniversary. She was 67.
Born in Philadelphia, Arlene grew up playing the piano, guitar, violin and viola. While studying at the Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, she met Clarence, who remembers her wearing military fatigues and a big Afro. "She looked of the moment, of the '70s," he said. He also recalled her drawing skills: "I was overwhelmed by her artistic talent."
The pair married a year later, in 1970. Clarence taught at East Carolina University in North Carolina, where Arlene earned a master's degree in 1989. The pair moved to Minnesota in 1992, taking teaching positions in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota.
Arlene's sculptures and drawings earned her exhibitions, a place in the Walker Art Center's permanent collection and praise in the newspaper.
In 1997, she won a $12,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation. In a review of the show featuring six McKnight Artists, Star Tribune art critic Mary Abbe described Burke-Morgan's 15-foot-tall, multipanel drawing depicting members of her family.
