Norval Morrisseau

Norval Morrisseau

Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) - Artist Biography

Norval Morrisseau, referred to as "Copper Thunderbird" is considered the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. He is heralded as "the key figure at the center of an indigenous art movement in Canada" by the National Chief of Assembly of First Nations and is the only Native Artist to have a solo exhibition by the National Gallery of Canada.

Morrisseau shattered societal, sexual, and commonly held stereotypes and prejudices in the 1960s. In the face of intense discrimination, He created a style that was all his own, an artistic vocabulary that inspired a new art movement. He founded the Woodlands School of Art and was a prominent member of the "Indian Group of Seven".In 1978, He was made a Member of the Order of Canada, a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and was honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award during the NAAF Awards show in 2008.

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.

Key Solo Exhibitions:

1962: Pollock Gallery, Toronto, ON.
1966: Musee du Quebec, Quebec City.
1967: La Galerie Cartier, Montreal, QC.
1968: Art Gallery of Newport, Newport, RI, USA.
1969: Saint Paul Galerie, Saint-Paul de Vence, France.
1976: Pollock Gallery, Toronto, ON.
1983: Norval Morrisseau: Recent Work, Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre, ON.
1987: O.M. Show, La Casa de la Raza, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
1990: Norval Morrisseau: Paintings from the Glenbow Museum, Glenbow Art Gallery, Calgary, AB.
2000: Norval Morrisseau: The Red Lake Years, Red Lake Museum, Red Lake, ON. Travelled to Thunder Bay Art Gallery, ON
2001: Draw and Tell: Lines of Transformation by Norval Morrisseau/Copper Thunderbird, The Drawing Centre, New York, NY, USA.
2006: Norval Morrisseau - Shaman Artist: Retrospective Exhibition, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON. Travelled to Thunder Bay Art Gallery, ON; McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, ON; National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY, USA.

Artist Specialization: Morrisseau founded the Woodlands style of art. He learned Ojibwa history and culture primarily from his grandfather Moses "Potan" Nanakonagos and later collected traditional narratives from his tribe in the 1950s. This oral history provided subject matter for his paintings, and he drew upon dreams and visions. Morrisseau said, "all my painting and drawing is really a continuation of the shaman's scrolls." Ojibwe rock art and birch bark scrolls, Wiigwaasabak, were stylistic antecedents of the Woodland style.