Hyperallergic's In Memoriam: Desmond Morris, James Hayward, Flo Oy Wong, and More
Hyperallergic's weekly In Memoriam column honors recently deceased figures from the art world. Among those remembered are British zoologist and artist Desmond Morris (1928–2026), author of 'The Naked Ape' and painter of 'biomorphs'; West Coast abstract painter James Hayward (1943–2026), known for monochrome works with thick surfaces; and mixed-media artist Flo Oy Wong (1938–2026), a pillar of Oakland's Chinatown who used family photos and rice sacks to tell stories of solidarity and internment. Other artists include South Carolina assemblage artist Aldwyth (1935–2026), Ethiopian artist and educator Behailu Bezabih (1960–2026), Anglo-Irish conservator Alec Cobbe (1945–2026), Bangladeshi art director Tarun Ghosh (1953–2026), New Mexico painter Michael Hurd (1946–2026), Latvian multidisciplinary artist Romāns Korovins (1973–2026), colcha embroidery master Josephine Lobato (d. 2026), British educator and ephemera collector Chris Mullen (d. 2026), abstract painter John Obuck (1946–2026), Detroit artist and educator Cledie Taylor (1926–2026), and painter and sculptor Paul Waldman (1936–2026), who founded the International Bird Museum.
Key facts
- Desmond Morris (1928–2026) was a British zoologist, television presenter, and artist who wrote 'The Naked Ape' (1967).
- James Hayward (1943–2026) was a West Coast abstract painter known for monochrome abstractions with thick surfaces.
- Flo Oy Wong (1938–2026) was a mixed-media artist, poet, and educator based in Oakland, California.
- Aldwyth (1935–2026) was a South Carolina assemblage artist who won an Anonymous Was a Woman award.
- Behailu Bezabih (1960–2026) was an Ethiopian artist and educator, a founding member of the Dimension Group.
- Alec Cobbe (1945–2026) was an Anglo-Irish conservator, decorator, and collector who worked at the Tate and Courtauld Institute.
- Tarun Ghosh (1953–2026) was a Bangladeshi art director and painter who won the National Film Award for Best Art Direction.
- Paul Waldman (1936–2026) founded the International Bird Museum in Southampton, New York.
Entities
Artists
- Desmond Morris
- James Hayward
- Flo Oy Wong
- Aldwyth
- Behailu Bezabih
- Alec Cobbe
- Tarun Ghosh
- Michael Hurd
- Romāns Korovins
- Josephine Lobato
- Chris Mullen
- John Obuck
- Cledie Taylor
- Paul Waldman
- Joan Miró
- Congo the chimp
- Barbara Loftus
- Clare Strand
- Nancy Manter
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Peter Hurd
- Henriette Wyeth-Hurd
- Mary Claire Moloney
- Queen Nur
- Tom Pich
- André James Baldwin
- Rahim Sumon
- Assaf Hailu
- Lisa Yin Zhang
Institutions
- Hyperallergic
- Tate
- Courtauld Institute
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
- Cincinnati Art Museum
- Princeton University Art Museum
- Smithsonian Institution
- South Carolina State Museum
- Greenville County Museum of Art
- Latvian National Museum of Art
- Latvian Contemporary Art Centre
- Bangladesh National Museum
- Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
- Addis Ababa University
- Dhaka University
- Norwich School of Art
- University of Brighton
- Roberts Projects
- Miles McEnery Gallery
- Barbara Gladstone
- Sidney Janis Gallery
- Grey Art Gallery
- Peter Blake Gallery
- Hurd Gallery
- International Bird Museum
- National Endowment for the Arts
- PBS
- Arts Extended
- Asian American Women Artists Association
- Dimension Group
- Artists of the Round Table
- Bengal Foundation
Locations
- United Kingdom
- South Carolina
- United States
- Ethiopia
- Hilton Head
- Moorpark
- California
- Los Angeles
- New York
- San Francisco
- New Mexico
- Latvia
- Oakland
- Sunnyvale
- Detroit
- Michigan
- Southampton
- Washington, DC
- Dhaka
- Bangladesh
- Addis Ababa
- Brighton
- Norwich
- Chicago
- Illinois
- Cincinnati
- Ohio
- Princeton
- New Jersey