John T. Scott | New Orleans artist, 67
John T. Scott, 67, a New Orleans artist who created large-scale abstract sculptures as well as drawings and prints, died of pulmonary fibrosis in a Houston hospital Saturday.
John T. Scott, 67, a New Orleans artist who created large-scale abstract sculptures as well as drawings and prints, died of pulmonary fibrosis in a Houston hospital Saturday.
The longtime Xavier University art professor received a John D. MacArthur Fellowship in 1992. He had earned his bachelor's degree at Xavier and returned as a faculty member in 1965 after earning a master's degree from Michigan State University.
Mr. Scott was born on a farm in the Gentilly section of New Orleans; his father was a chauffeur to the owners, who used the farm to supply meat and produce for their restaurant. When he was 7, the family moved to the Lower Ninth Ward.
He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1958 and began formal art studies.
Hurricane Katrina had forced Mr. Scott to flee to Houston, where his disease required two double-lung transplants.
He was recovering from one of those operations in June when Xavier gave him an honorary doctorate in humane letters. Michigan State had awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1995 and Tulane University in 1997.