Alberto Morrocco RSA 1917-1998

Alberto Morrocco was a painter whose work expressed his delight in the physical world. His relish for wholesome goodthings - for the shapes and colours of fruit and flowers, for landscapes and beach-scenes and for the
human face and figure - shone through his paintings.

Morrocco was born in Aberdeen, to parents who had been part of the migration from hard farmlands near Monte Cassino that brought Italian restaurants and ice-cream to every town in Scotland at the start of the present century. It is Alberto’s generation of Italo Scots - the first native born cohort - that has made such an outstanding contribution to the
intellectual and artistic life of this country.

Having left school at 14, Morrocco went straight into Grays School of Art - something that would not be possible today. That meant he was immediately plunged head over heals into painting - the activity that was to be central to the rest of his life. 

In later years he would recall the long hours of drawing from antique casts, the detailed study of anatomy and drapery, and the endless painting from the nude - things that modern students have sometimes declared “soul destroying" - and describe his delight in them. They were the very things he most passionately wanted to do. 

In 1940, after a year of working with Robert Sivell on the murals in Aberdeen Students Union, Morrocco was called up into the army, and remained in uniform until he returned to teach at Grays in 1946. In the meantime he had married the painter Vera Mercer, who became his devoted and much-loved life companion.

In 1950, Morrocco became head of the School of Drawing and Painting at Dundee Art College. He remained there until 1983 through a time - not always easy - of great expansion in higher art education. Throughout his headship Morrocco continued to teach - and, of course, paint - though far too much of his energy was spent on administration in the later years.

Morrocco was elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academyin 1951 and full member in 1962. His pictures were a prominent feature of the summer exhibitions of the Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institure throughtout his career.

He gave well over 30 one-manexhibitions - notably at the Thackeray Gallery in London, as well as the Scottish Gallery and elswhere in Scotland. His work is in numerous public and private collections in Britain, Europe and the Americas.

An unusual mark of recognition came in the Eightied when he was invited to tour China, demonstrating drawing and painting the figure in a culture with no tradition of such work. He relished the whole trip enormously and so impressed and charmed his hosts that they pressed him for further visits (which his heavy programme of exhibtions rendered impossible).

An overall impression of Morrocco’s work - and therefore his life - was given by the 1993 retrospective exhibition which astonished visitors with its extent and variety. In the work from his student and early years, the influence of Robert Sivell and James Cowie, his teachers at Aberdeen, is apparent in the emphasis on hard-edged draughtsmanship.

Furthe rinto the exhibition, colour plays a more dominant role. The palette becomes warmer as new themes - family groups, clowns, flowers and fruit, Mediterranean beaches and street scenes - come into prominence. Throughout, there are the portraits. In an informal period like ours, the formal portrait has become a peculiarly difficult subject.

Again and again Morrocco combines the necessary concern for the sitter’s character and dignity with the construction of a satisfying 20th century composition. (Two former editors of The Scotsman, Eric B.
Mackay and James Seaton, were among his commissioned subjects). Alongside the Official portraits, his family studies - often struck off with great economy- are among the most delightful things in painting.

Morrocco’s later work frequently has elements of humour. These maybe integral, in the twist of a line, or the juxtaposition of forms, or
feats of representational shorthand. Sometimes they are more explicit, as in Self Portrait (from behind) with wife and child and Conde, Duque Olivares. Morrocco’s colour becomes more adventurous, and his drawing bolder, as we approach the present.

No doubt it is with this phase particularly in mind that Duncan Macmillan has described Morrocco’s painting as “warm, generous, and immediate”. The words are brilliantly apt. They fit not only the work, but also the man.  Alberto Morrocco had a great gift for friendship, as many people can attest, having enjoyed the splendid hospitality he and Vera dispensed at their wonderful house above the Tay. 

Throughout this piece, I have tended to refer to Alberto by his surname. That may seem excessively formal, applied to a man with

whom I have enjoyed a developing friendship for more than 30 years, but I thought it best to follow custom, However, in this instance, the
custom involves a peculiar danger, since “Morrocco” can refer to a whole class of artists.

Vera is a painter whose work we have seen all too seldom, largely because of her involvement with running a household, bringing up a family, and - well - looking after Alberto. The elder son Leon has made
outstanding careers as a painter in both Australia and Britain. The second son Laurie, is a distinguished fine art restorer, and Lisa, the daughter who features as a child in many of Alberto’s paintings, is a successful illustrator in the fiercely competitive world of Paris.

Alberto spent a longlife doing what he most enyjoyed doing - and doing it supremely well. Surely it was a happy life. It is that vivid
impression of happiness - the very warmth and joy that Alberto conveyed to us through his work, coupled with the delight that so
many have found in his character and friendship, that ensures he will be so very keenly missed.

RSA Obituary by Sir Anthony Wheeler, PPRSA; Trnascribed from the 1998 RSA Annual Report