Beverly H. Morgan was born on October 1, 1917, in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of George Elbert and Ione (Gates) Morgan. She started art lessons at the age of eight and continued her studies while attending Sunset High School in Dallas. In Texas, Beverly’s experience and growth as an artist was nurtured as she worked her way up the ladder of importance at the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas. She designed numerous items for the prestigious store, including the first dye-cut, pop-up gift cards and foil-backed wrapping paper. She also created fabric designs. Her innovative design ideas were published in Vogue and numerous other publications, and she helped to fuel the creative side of the Neiman Marcus enterprise.
When Beverly was sixteen she made her first trip to Southern California; years later she would settle there to become a serious painter while raising a family. Beverly’s first husband was Lewis Talbot Lohman, an oil company executive and president of Exchange Oil and Gas Company in Texas. The couple subsequently moved to Los Angeles, and Beverly pursued her work as an artist. After her husband’s death in 1978, she married Chase Morsey.
In California, Beverly studied with Jack Baker of Santa Barbara. During her career, Beverly maintained an active presence in numerous civic and social organizations, while exhibiting her artwork throughout Southern California; she was represented by the Gregg G. Juarez Gallery in both Beverly Hills, California, and Palm Beach, Florida, and had numerous solo exhibitions at that gallery and nationally. Beverly is best known for her large canvases filled with vitality. A true colorist, she demonstrates her love of nature in her compositions, which are usually strong dramatic still lifes.
