Abstract artist, born in Carlisle, Cumberland, to which he eventually returned after some years in Edinburgh, the family textile firm Morton Sundour being based in both places. Morton joined it aged 21, having studied mathematics for a year at Edinburgh University and been briefly at Oxford University. In 1928 his father, James Morton, founded Edinburgh Weavers, to which Alastair was eventually appointed artistic director. This brought him into contact with many contemporary artists who used the firm, notably Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. From the mid-1930s Morton began to work in a manner similar to Nicholson’s, exhibiting in group shows. An exhibition on Morton’s involvement with Edinburgh Weavers was held in 1978 at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which holds his work.