steffichfineart

Artists

NORVAL MORRISSEAU, RCA

Norval Morrisseau is a legend in his own time. He was born in 1931 on Sandy Lake Reserve in northwestern Ontario .  Norval started to paint in 1959, after he received a “vision” telling him to do so. He was the first Ojibwa to break the tribal rules of setting down Indian legends in picture form for the white man to see and the first Indian to actually draw these legends and design representative shapes to illustrate his folklore.  He is considered the founder of the “Woodland Art Movement” a style emulated by many young Ojibwa artists.

At first he painted on birch bark because that was all he had. He felt he was chosen to set down the great heritage of the Ojibwa; to pass on, in some form of documentation, the traditions and life force of the tribe before it finally disappeared forever. In 1960, a Toronto art dealer by the name of Jack Pollock “discovered” Norval. He hung 42 original birch bark paintings in his gallery, which sold in 24 hours.

Norval Morrisseau was awarded the prestigious Order of Canada Medal in 1978 by the Governor General of Canada for his contribution to Canadian Art.  Norval Morrisseau is collected by The National Gallery of Canada and is the only First Nations Artist who has had a solo exhibition there.  

Morrisseau was dubbed the "Picasso of the North" by the French Press in 1969 and is considered one of the most innovative artists of the Century.  Unlike Picasso, Norval Morrisseau developed a unique style of art in isolation with no connection to European style and influence.   He was the only Canadian artist invited by France to contribute and show his work at their Bicentennial Celebration in 1989.  While in Europe he toured the galleries to see the works of Master artists.  He returned to paint in even more vibrant colours and abstract shapes.

Norval Morrisseau almost died of illness as a small boy. His mother took him to a Medicine Woman who gave him the powerful Ojibway name Copper Thunderbird to give him strength.   He signs all his work using his native name Copper Thunderbird using Cree syllabics taught to him by his Cree wife.

Although the road to the present has often been a rocky one, few would argue that Norval is the most important artist this country has ever produced, native or otherwise.

Norval Morrisseau is represented on Salt Spring Island at Steffich Fine Art. 

 

                                                                                                                                    

 

Awards

 

1995                               Eagle Feather from the Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa

1980                               Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree

                                        McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario

1978                               Order of Canada

1970                               Appointed a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art (RCAA)

 

Collections

 

*        Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario

*        Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

*        Art Gallery of Windsor, Toronto, Ontario

*        Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario

*        Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce of Collection

*        Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Ontario

*        Citicorp of Canada Ltd., Toronto, Ontario

*        City Hall Collection, Toronto, Ontario

*        City of Toronto Collection, Toronto, Ontario

*        Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

*        Constellation Hotel, Toronto, Ontario

*        Crown Life Insurance, Toronto, Ontario

*        Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Gatineau, Quebec

*        Dodd's Coal Mines, South Edmonton, Alberta

*        Etobicoke Board of Education, Etobicoke, Ontario

*        Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta

*        Government of Ontario Collection, Toronto, Ontario

*        Guardian Capital Group, Toronto, Ontario

*        Hart House Art Gallery, University of Toronto, Ontario

*        Humber College Collection, Toronto, Ontario

*        Imperial Oil of Canada, Toronto and Calgary

*        Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario

*        McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario

*        Manitoba Centennial Corporation, Winnipeg, Manitoba

*        Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Montreal, Quebec

*        Montreal Trust Company Collection

*        Musée du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec

*        National Gallery of Canada

*        Noranda Mines Collection, Toronto, Ontario

*        Noreen Energy Resources Ltd.

*        Northern Telecom, Toronto, Ontario

*        Oakville Centennial Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

*        Ondaatje Corporation, Toronto, Ontario

*        Ontario Centennial Committee Collection

*        Proctor and Gamble, Toronto, Ontario

*        Province of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba

*        Robertson Art Centre, Binghampton, NY

*        Ross Memorial Hospital, Lindway, Ontario

*        Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario    

*        Seneca College, Toronto, Ontario

*        Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia     

*        The Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

*        Thunder bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario

*        Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

 

2006                       The National Gallery, Ottawa Canada

                                Norval Morrisseau, Shaman Artist

 

2006                       Steffich Fine Art, Salt Spring Island, BC

                                Norval Morrisseau : Pictorial Legends

 

2002                        Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario

                                  Evolution: Four Decades of Work by Norval Morrisseau

                                 

2001                        Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba

                                                                            Norval Morrisseau: The Red Lake Years

                        

                            

1999                        Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, Ontario

                                  Norval Morrisseau, Bridging the Past to the Future

                                                                            Norval Morrisseau: New Works on Paper

                                                                        

 

1997                        Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, Ontario

                                  Norval Morrisseau: Travels to the House of Invention

                                 

1994                        Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, Ontario

                                  Honouring First Nations - Norval Morrisseau

                                                                          

1992                        Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, Ontario

                                  The Spirit Within: Early Paintings by Norval Morrisseau

                                                                          Jenkins/Showler Galleries, Whiterock, British Columbia

 

1991                       Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, Ontario

                                Norval Morrisseau

                                Wallack Galleries, Ottawa, Ontario

 

1990                       Kinsman Robinson Galleries Toronto, Ontario

                                Norval Morrisseau:The Shaman’s Return 

                               

1989                       The Art Emporium, Vancouver, British Columbia 

 

1988                       Sinclair Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia

 

1987                       Gulf Canada Gallery, Alberta

 

1984                       Ontario North Now, Ontario Place, Toronto, Ontario

                                Library AA Gallery, Brampton, Ontario

 

1983                       Art Imperial Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Native American Centre for the Living Arts, Niagara   Falls, N.Y., USA

                                Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art

                                Thunder Bay, Ontario  Norval Morrisseau: Recent Work

                               

1982                       Robertson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario

                                                                          Norval Morrisseau

                                                                          The New Man Gallery, London, Ontario

                                Nexus Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Moore Gallery Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario

                                Masters Gallery, Calgary, Alberta

                                Scarborough Public Library, Ontario

                                                                          Legacy Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1981                       Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                                                          Anthony’s Gallery, Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia

                                Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art

                                                                          Thunder Bay, Ontario

 

1980                       Canadian Galleries, Edmonton, Alberta

                                Bayard Gallery, New York, N.Y, USA

 

1979                       Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Oakville Centennial, Gairloch Galleries, Oakville, Ontario

                                The Gallery Stratford, Stratford, Ontario

                              Cardigan-Milne Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

1978                       First Canadian Place, Toronto, Ontario

 

1977                       The Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Norval Morrisseau, Copper Thunderbird - Man Who Became a Thunderbird

                                Graphic Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

 

1976                       Pollock Gallery Toronto, Ontario

                                Oakville Centennial Gairloch Galleries, Oakville, Ontario

 

1975                       Shayne Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

                                Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Gallery 115, Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

1974                       Beau-xi Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1972                       Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                Retrospective

                               

1969                       Norval Morrisseau: Peintre indien du Grand Nord Canadien

                                                                          Gallerie Saint-Paul, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France

 

1967                       Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

                                                                          La Galerie Cartier, Montreal, Quebec


          1966                      Musée du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec

 

1965                       Galerie Agnes Lefort, Montreal, Quebec

                                Images Du Folklore Indien - Norval Morrisseau, An Ojibway Artist

                                                                          Hart House Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

 

1964                       Red Door Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

1962-63                Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

Films / Videos

 

2005                     A Separate Reality: the Life and Times of Norval Morrisseau

                                Carvallo, Paul (Producer), for the Life and Times Canada’s Premiere Biography Series, CBC

 

2004                       Stories from the 7th Fire “Winter”

                                Coyes, Greg, animation based on art of Norval Morrisseau

 

1990                      Shaman Never Die

                                Lamothe, Arthur (Director/Producer), Atelier Audio Visuelle, Montreal

                               The Originals (film) Norval Morrisseau

                                Znaimer, Moses; Jim Hanley, City TV, Toronto, Ontario

 

1982                      Spirits Speaking Through: Canadian Woodland Artists

                                CBC Spectrum Series

 

1974                     The Paradox of Norval Morrisseau

                                Jacobsen, Henning Productions Ltd.; Duke Redbird (Director)

                                Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

 

1973                      The Colours of Pride

                                Jacobsen, Henning Productions Ltd.

                                National Film Board of Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                         

Home |  Paintings | Sculpture  | Photography |  Historical Canadian Artists  

Scrimshaw | Limited Edition Prints | Jewellery |  Gift Shop | Links | Contact Us | "$" Converter

Site Map