Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1902, Charles Hill Morgan and earned his bachelor's, master's, and PhD from Harvard University. He left Harvard in 1928 to attend the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. After lecturing at Bryn Mawr College from 1929 to 1930, Morgan accepted an assistant professorship at Amherst and the opportunity to direct the construction of the new Mead Art Museum and the acquisition of its collection.

Morgan served as director of the Mead Art Museum from its opening in 1949 to his retirement in 1969. The Amherst Fine Arts department grew during his career from one to eight faculty members. He also worked with Trinity College to establish and organize the Austin Center of Art in 1965-1966.

Morgan's love of classical art was also expressed in his long-standing relationship with the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. He returned to the school in 1933 and 1952 as a professor and research fellow. Between 1936 and 1938 he directed both the school and the excavation of the Agora (a marketplace) of ancient Corinth. In 1935 he took over the work of Dr. Frederick O. Waage to write a book, The Byzantine Pottery, a study of pottery found in Corinth; this book was published by Harvard University Press for the American School of Classical studies at Athens in 1942.

Morgan's articles were published in the American Journal of Archaeology, the Hesperia, and The Archaelogike Ephemeris and numerous other professional journals. In addition to his work on Greek pottery, Morgan published biographies of George Belows (1965) and Michelangelo (1960) and a book on the development of the Art Collection at Amherst College (1972).

Morgan served as an Air Intelligence officer in the European Theatre from 1942 to 1945. He was awarded the Allied Legion of Merit Award and the Belgian Croix de Guerre.

In 1928 Morgan married Rev. Janet Barton, who later became deacon at Grace Episcopal Church. They had a son and two daughters, George S.B. Morgan, Audrey Leaf, and Prudence Eppich.