“Norma Morgan in Context” opens Jan. 13 and runs through April 7 at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London.

Morgan (1928–2017) was a visionary African American artist from New Haven who approached landscape with a sense of awe and a reverence towards nature.

Her evocative prints and watercolors depict powerful and expressive landscapes filled with texture, atmosphere, and a focus on geology and rock formations. Inspired by the Romantic tradition and the history, literature, and art of the British Isles, Morgan spent several years in the United Kingdom rendering the wild beauty of its landscapes.

This scenery continued to inspire Morgan after her return to America. Based in New York City, she worked episodically in the Catskills for many years, drawn to the region’s beautiful forests and waterfalls and to the artists’ colony in Woodstock, N.Y. The rich history of this area, which attracted the Hudson River School artists in the mid-19th century, also appealed to Morgan, who portrayed sites such as Kaaterskill Creek and Falls in her distinctive style.

Her prints and watercolors often include small figures gazing out at expansive landscape views, stand-ins for the artist and viewer that invite us to vicariously inhabit these places. Figure studies and portraits of family and friends are posed against rocky backdrops. In several instances, Morgan also portrayed important Black historical figures such as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.

“Norma Morgan in Context” presents Morgan’s work alongside that of her teachers, colleagues, and other artistic influences. By exploring various threads of Morgan’s work, this exhibition considers her dynamic and complex identity as a Black female landscape artist and printmaker working at home and abroad.

Lyman Allyn hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. and 1-5 p.m. Sun.; last admission at 4 p.m. Call (860) 443-2345 or visit lymanallyn.org.