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Poisson by Norval Morrisseau

Artwork by Norval Morrisseau, Poisson

Norval Morrisseau
Poisson

acrylic on canvas
signed lower right
28 x 40 ins ( 71.1 x 101.6 cms )

Auction Estimate: $10,000.00$8,000.00 - $10,000.00

Price Realized $11,500.00
Sale date: June 1st 2016

Provenance:
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Private Collection, British Columbia
Exhibited:
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, 1975
Morrisseau was a member of the “Indian Group of Seven”, a group of Indigenous artists including the Woodland School artists, Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy, Eddy Cobiness, Alex Janvier, Carl Ray, and Joseph Sanchez. After the formation of the group in 1973, exhibitions of the artists’ work travelled from Vancouver through to Ottawa and Montreal, exhibiting their work and introducing an Aboriginal voice to the discourse of fine art and Canadian art history. This vibrant canvas was exhibited with Dominion Gallery, Montreal in 1975 with other works from the Indian Group of Seven. Drawing on his Anishinaabe culture, fish figured prominently in the sustenance of these First Nation peoples, given the geographical location around the Lake Nipigon-Thunder Bay region extending North and West from Lake Superior region. The thick black fluid contour lines connect one figure to the next as a visual representation of the interconnectivity of all living beings. The painting acts as a record of history and culture of the Ojibway and their strong connection to the land.


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Norval Morrisseau
(1931 - 2007) RCA, Order of Canada

HighlightsWatch Artist

Born in 1931 at Sandy Point Reserve, Ontario, Morrisseau was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts since 1970. Norval Morrisseau was the celebrated founder of the Woodland School, which revitalized Anishnabe iconography, traditionally incised on rocks and Midewiwin birchbark scrolls. A self-taught painter, printmaker, and illustrator, Morrisseau created an innovative vocabulary which was initially criticized in the Native community for its disclosure of traditional spiritual knowledge. His colourful, figurative images delineated with heavy black form lines and x-ray articulations, were characteristically signed with the syllabic spelling of Copper Thunderbird, the name Morrisseau’s grandfather gave him. Morrisseau completed many commissions during his career including the mural for the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1978 and, in 1980, received honourary doctorates from both McGill and McMaster universities. In 1995 Morrisseau was honoured by the Assembly of First Nations.