Delyte Morris | Sharp Museum | SIU

"Delyte Morris"

Cast Bronze mounted on Old Main building stones
Old Main Mall crossroads

Fredda Brilliant

Delyte Morris (1907-1982) became president of Southern Illinois University in 1948-1970. During his leadership, he transformed the university from a teacher’s college into a research university. Brilliant’s sculpture included Mahatma Gandhi, Tom Mann, John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi. Her grand forms reflected a love of humanity and passion for art.

Fredda Brilliant was born in Lodz, Poland of a Jewish diamond trade family. She worked in a variety of media and was recognized as an accomplished sculptor, writer, actor, singer and script-writer. She extensively traveled and worked in Europe, USA, Australia, India. In 1935, she married Herbert Marshall, a documentary film-maker and translator. In 1966 Fredda followed her husband to SIUC where he was a professor in Soviet and Eastern European Studies. “Brilliant was a sculptress whose “gypsy creativity” drove her to all corners of the world, crossing barriers without regard- an Independent” as relayed in her obituary. She died in Carbondale in 1999.