About Morgan Cawdrey

Morgan Cawdrey, raised in the relative wilderness of Thompson Falls, MT and later in the dramatic Flathead Valley, has been drawing and painting in the studio since he was able to hold a brush. Morgan continues to study the art of painting dye on silk and other media with his mother, Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey. He began selling work at 14 after winning first place of his age division in the Montana State Jr. Duck Stamp contest several times, and has enjoyed the patronage of collectors from all over the United States since then.

Morgan graduated in 2009 from Dartmouth College with a degree in Chinese Language and Literature (Mandarin), and his three terms spent in China absorbing their culture brought a new perspective and reverence to his study of the ancient Chinese art of silk painting. He volunteered to teach high school English as a second language in the Marshall Islands for a year, but that was more than enough of the classroom. Upon return to the U.S. Morgan began assisting his father Steve with the family art business, which culminated in opening Cawdrey Gallery in Whitefish in 2021.

With his depictions of wide open spaces and fascinating wildlife Morgan attempts an “East Meets West” effect, painting Western subject matter with French dyes on Chinese silk. He practices oil painting “en plein air” as well, painting alongside and learning from eminent Western artists like Michael Ome Untiedt, R.S. Riddick, Brent Cotton and Trey McCarley. When Morgan is not in his Whitefish, MT studio he is skiing, hiking or biking, hoping to spot the wildlife, fish, water and iconic Big Sky cloudscapes that inspire him. Commissions are welcome.