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Bear Walker Handmade Silk Screen

Norval Morrisseau

Bear Walker Society

Norval Morrisseau, RCA
Bear Walker Society
1992
Original limited-edition serigraph on paper
Edition 32 of 220
Signed and numbered in pencil
Unframed

Powerful and enigmatic, Bear Walker Society explores the fluid relationship between human, animal and spirit forms that appears throughout Norval Morrisseau’s work.

Morrisseau’s bold black formlines divide and connect the composition, allowing separate figures and interior forms to exist as parts of a larger spiritual whole. Through vivid colour and transforming imagery, the work suggests movement between visible and unseen worlds rather than presenting a single fixed narrative.

The bear held an important place within Morrisseau’s visual language, appearing in works concerned with identity, spiritual power, kinship and transformation. In Bear Walker Society, the title invites consideration of a gathering or community connected through the bear form.

Because teachings and stories associated with bears vary among Anishinaabe communities, Steffich Fine Art does not assign one definitive ceremonial or spiritual interpretation to the image. The work is presented through its documented title, imagery and place within Morrisseau’s broader artistic practice.

This impression is signed by Morrisseau and numbered 32 from an edition of 220.

Artwork details

Artist: Norval Morrisseau
Title: Bear Walker Society
Date: 1992
Medium: Original limited-edition serigraph on paper
Edition: 32 of 220
Inscribed: Signed and numbered in pencil
Paper dimensions: 19 × 23½ inches
Orientation: Vertical
Presentation: Unframed
Condition: Good

Provenance

This impression comes from a private Canadian collection.

The artwork is accompanied by a Steffich Fine Art provenance package documenting its edition information, inscriptions, condition and available gallery history. This documentation is prepared for insurance, collection management and future provenance records.

Steffich Fine Art has handled works by Norval Morrisseau for many years, including original paintings and official limited-edition serigraphs. Available historical gallery records and supporting documentation will accompany the work.

Condition

The serigraph is offered in good condition.

The colours remain vivid and the work presents well overall. As an unframed work on paper from 1992, it may display minor age-related or handling characteristics consistent with its history.

Any visible marks, edge wear, surface variations or paper irregularities will be photographed and included in the accompanying condition record. Framing with archival materials and UV-protective glazing is recommended for long-term display and preservation.

Additional condition photographs are available, and we welcome questions before purchase.

Authenticity and gallery guarantee

Steffich Fine Art guarantees this work to be an original limited-edition Norval Morrisseau serigraph.

The artwork is accompanied by a detailed provenance package, including edition and inscription photographs, condition documentation and supporting historical reference material where available.

Steffich Fine Art has a longstanding history of exhibiting, researching and placing works by Norval Morrisseau. Every work is reviewed with careful attention to authorship, provenance, condition and available published records.

Fully insured and tracked shipping is available. Please submit an inquiry or contact the gallery with your postal code for a delivery quote.

Norval Morrisseau

Norval Morrisseau, born March 14th, 1932, also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation.

Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential struggles, and his deep spirituality and mysticism.

His style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors. He founded the Woodlands School of Canadian Art and was a prominent member of the “Indian Group of Seven”. He was a recipient of the Order of Canada in 1979.

Morrisseau transcended this earthly plane December 4th, 2007 on Vancouver, Island.

Return to Norval Morrisseau's Artist Legacy Collection Page
Norval Morrisseau, Shaman Artist Few would argue that Norval is one of the most important artists this country has ever produced, native or otherwise. 

The exact year of Norval Morrisseau's birth is not known, but is thought to be between 1931 and 1933 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.

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. 
How Norval Morrisseau Became Copper Thunderbird ... This is the highest sort of power that can be given to any one that is sick; and that is to give him a new name, a powerful new name. It is just like administering extreme unction, like the Jesuits do almost like a last rite.
Conquest of the Thunderbird Conquest of the Thunderbird In June of 2010, the National Gallery of Canada purchased the painting “Conquest of the Thunderbird” from our gallery. It now becomes part of our shared Canadian culture, and I for one, could not be any more proud to have been a part of making this happen.
Norval Morrisseau- a true story you never heard before…

Sit down and I will tell you a tale. About a painting, a man, and his friends. As told to us by the client who owned the painting “The Young Thunderbird”. The Young Thunderbird It was early 1970’s and I was living in the Beaches in Toronto. It was a time that anything was possible and everything...

Steffich Fine Art is in LOVE with the Shamanic Art of Norval Morrisseau

Did you know Steffich Fine Art has a “thing” for the Shamanic Art of Norval Morrisseau? I did, but until today I never knew why.

If you look around our gallery you will see a little bit of Norval everywhere, he is omnipresent, in fact he is our most requested artist. Despite this, I had never heard the story behind our gallery’s Morrisseau obsession.

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