Toni Morrison, 'one of the most important American writers' of the 20th century Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, a professor of history of art at the University of Pennsylvania, describes novelist Toni Morrison as "one of the most important American writers" of the last century. Shaw says Morisson's work was "deeply impactful" for American culture and "black writers and artists" in general. Admirers who came to look at the portrait of the Nobel laureate at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington pay tribute to her "really powerful" work.