LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of Merton D. Simpson, painter,
collector, art dealer and devoted member of his community

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to the
life and accomplishments of those individuals of historic and artistic
significance whose creative talents contributed to the cultural enrich-
ment of our communities and our Nation; and
WHEREAS, Merton Daniel Simpson of Manhattan, New York, died on March
9, 2013, at the age of 84; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson distinguished himself as an artist who
became a trailblazing collector and gallery owner specializing in Afri-
can art; his extraordinary talent, dedication and inspired vision helped
to establish the place of African Americans in the art world and made a
substantial contribution to the welfare of his community; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on
September 20, 1928; his father was a water-meter reader, and his mother
was a homemaker; and
WHEREAS, His youthful interests ran to both drawing and music; in high
school he was a reed player, and he continued to play jazz saxophone as
an adult, which he held influenced some of his later paintings; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson came to New York in 1948, and studied at
Cooper Union and New York University; in 1951 he entered the United
States Air Force where he spent most of his time playing in the Air
Force band and painting portraits of military officers, including Gener-
al Dwight D. Eisenhower; he also worked on paintings of his own; and
WHEREAS, Upon leaving the service, Merton D. Simpson returned to
Manhattan, where he supported himself working in a frame shop frequented
by well-known artists who would critique his paintings; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson began collecting African and tribal art in
the late 1940s; his interest grew through the next decade, spurred by
the influence of African sculpture on the paintings of Picasso, Miro and
others; and
WHEREAS, He began dealing in art in the early 1950s to support his
painting and to help his family, first working out of a studio apartment
and later from a gallery in Manhattan; over decades of traveling in
Africa and Europe, Merton D. Simpson established a reputation for taste
and expertise that many aficionados in the field consider unmatched; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson's work as a painter was largely in the
Abstract Expressionist mode; it grew more political after he joined the
Spiral group, a collective of black artists founded in 1963 by Romare
Bearden, Hale Woodruff and others, who met to discuss the role of black
artists in the art world and, the larger world as well; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson is considered an unsung pioneer in the
world of African art; over the course of the 1960s and 1970s he became
arguably the most important dealer in the United States in his field, a
feat especially remarkable because he was an African-American who began
this work during segregation; and
WHEREAS, Merton D. Simpson is survived by two sons, Merton Jr. and
Kenneth; a brother, Carl; a sister, Patsy Johnson; two grandchildren;
and three great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit and imbued with a sense of
compassion, Merton D. Simpson leaves behind a legacy which will long
endure the passage of time and will remain as a comforting memory to all
he served and befriended; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Merton D. Simpson, painter, collector, art dealer and
devoted member of his community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Merton D. Simpson.