Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong
This week, we honor a surrealist and zoologist, a monochrome abstractionist, and a pillar of Oakland’s Chinatown.
In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Desmond Morris (1928–2026)
British zoologist, television presenter, and artist
Among the nearly 50 books, as many articles, and the many TV episodes he presented, his book The Naked Ape (1967) stood out as groundbreaking and influential (and controversial) for framing modern humans as fundamentally ape-like. But he was also a painter of what he called "biomorphs" who showed his surrealist work alongside that of artists like Joan Miró, and famously experimented with giving art tools to Congo the chimp.
“I tried to create a private world in which my own, invented organisms evolved and developed like a personal flora and fauna from my imagination,” he wrote in his 1979 memoir Animal Days. “Somehow they obeyed biological rules and grew and metamorphosed as if they were real.”
Aldwyth (1935–2026)
South Carolina assemblage artist
Born Mary Aldwyth Dickman, she made idiosyncratic assemblages and collages and was influenced by the group Artists of the Round Table in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She won many prizes throughout her career, including an Anonymous Was a Woman award, and her work is held in institutions including the South Carolina State Museum. She was the subject of the 2022 PBS documentary Aldwyth: Fully Assembled.
Behailu Bezabih (1960–2026)
Ethiopian artist and educator
A force in Ethiopian contemporary art, his paintings and works on paper blended Ethiopian cultural traditions with contemporary approaches. He was one of a few artists who redefined the nation's art scene after the fall of the Derg regime, notably as a founding member of the Dimension Group. He was an assistant professor at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design at Addis Ababa University.
Alec Cobbe (1945–2026)
Anglo-Irish conservator, decorator, and collector
Perhaps best known as a designer of historic interiors, he worked as a conservator at the Tate and the Courtauld Institute before opening his own studio. He was also a visual artist and graphic designer. The Victoria & Albert Museum holds his design archive, and an exhibition of his work was held there in 2013.
Tarun Ghosh (1953–2026)
Bangladeshi art director, painter, and museum worker
He was one of the first students to enroll in what is now the Faculty of Arts at Dhaka University shortly after Bangladeshi independence, and worked at the Bangladesh National Museum for more than 20 years. His film Kittonkhola (2000) won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Art Direction, and he also received the top prize at the National Art Exhibition in 1996 and the Asian Art Biennial in 1997.
James Hayward (1943–2026)
West Coast abstract painter with a cult following
His monochrome abstractions — made on a horse farm in Moorpark, California, for much of his life — were characterized by thick surfaces. His work has been shown by galleries such as Roberts Projects in Los Angeles and Miles McEnery Gallery in New York, and is held by museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Michael Hurd (1946–2026)
New Mexico painter and steward of Hurd-Wyeth legacies
Drawing inspiration from the natural landscapes and urban character of New Mexico, he used oil, watercolor, and charcoal to create his atmospheric and serene paintings. He was also a steward of his family's artistic heritage as the son of Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth-Hurd, preserving Sentinel Ranch, the family's home. He won New Mexico's 2016 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts for both.
Romāns Korovins (1973–2026)
Latvian multidisciplinary artist
He won the Purvītis prize, Latvia's top art award, for his muted and elegiac work across painting, photography, drawing, video, and more. His works are held in the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art and the Latvian Contemporary Art Centre, as well as private collections in the United States and across Europe.
Josephine Lobato (d. 2026)
Master of colcha embroidery
She embroidered cultural memory, folk history, and more as a rare practitioner of the Spanish colonial-style needlework known as colcha. She received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the country's highest honor in folk art.
Chris Mullen (d. 2026)
British educator and collector of visual ephemera
He taught at institutions including the Norwich School of Art and the University of Brighton, mentoring prominent artists like Barbara Loftus and Clare Strand. He also collected magazines, books, and other forms of printed ephemera, creating a vast online library called the Visual Telling of Stories.
John Obuck (1946–2026)
Abstract painter
His mostly abstract paintings have been shown at many art spaces and galleries, including Barbara Gladstone, Sidney Janis Gallery, and the Grey Art Gallery; and are held at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Princeton University Art Museum.
"John was a beloved friend and mentor to many," artist Nancy Manter told Hypereallergic. "His quick-witted humor, his generosities, his dedication to his wonderful artwork, are many of the things John will be remembered for."
Cledie Taylor (1926–2026)
"First Lady" of Detroit's art scene
The pioneering artist, educator, and gallerist was passionate about Detroit's Black artists and the city's public school art curriculum, as well as making her own multidisciplinary art. She was one of the founding members of Arts Extended, which exhibits local artists and hosts a robust lecture program.
Paul Waldman (1936–2026)
Painter, sculptor, and curator of the International Bird Museum
After a stint as a renowned bodybuilder, he made paintings and sculptures that were surreal and transgressive, stretching the boundaries of what an art object can be. In 1986, he began making elaborate birdhouses, placing them around the grounds of his Southampton, New York home. He went on to found the International Bird Museum, a multilevel birdhouse featuring an art gallery, including miniature works contributed by Roy Lichtenstein.
Flo Oy Wong (1938–2026)
Mixed-media artist, poet, and educator
She was a pillar of Chinatown in Oakland, California, using family photos, rice sacks, and other ephemera to tell the stories of Chinese and Black families building solidarity during the segregation era, Japanese-American internment, and more. She showed her work internationally, including at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and founded the Asian American Women Artists Association.
