![]() Struck by the genius of Morrisseau's art, he immediately organized an exhibition of his work at his Toronto gallery. As Pollock did not drive, Susan Ross whom Morrisseau had met in 1961 and Sheila Burnford drove Pollock to visit Morrisseau at his home to view more of his works. The two initially met in 1962 while Pollock was teaching a painting workshop in Beardmore. Jack Pollock, a Toronto art dealer, helped expose Morrisseau's art to a wider audience in the 1960s. Dewdney was the first to take his art to a wider public. There he met his future wife Harriet Kakegamic with whom he had seven children, Victoria, Michael, Peter, David, Lisa, Eugene, and Christian.Īfter being invited by Ontario Provincial Police Constable, Robert Sheppard, to meet the artist, the anthropologist Selwyn Dewdney became an early advocate of Morrisseau's and was very interested in Morrisseau's deep knowledge of native culture and myth. Morrisseau contracted tuberculosis in 1956 and was sent to Fort William Sanatorium to recover. ![]() When he started painting, he was discouraged from sharing traditional stories and images outside of the First Nation, but he decided to break this taboo. ![]() Morrisseau recovered after the ceremony and from then on always signed his works with his new name. According to Anishnaabe tradition, giving a powerful name to a dying person can give them new energy and save their lives. Fearing for his life, his mother called a medicine-woman who performed a renaming ceremony: she gave him the new name Copper Thunderbird. He was taken to a doctor but his health kept deteriorating. He spent much of his time listening to elders, drawing, fishing, hunting, picking berries, and trapping. Morrisseau left the school when he was ten, preferring to learn from elders rather than continuing his formal education. After two years he returned home and started attending a local community school in Beardmore. There, he and other students were educated in the European tradition, native culture was suppressed, and the use of native language was forbidden. Joseph’s Indian Residential School in Fort William, Ontario. Īt the age of six, Morrisseau was sent to a Catholic residential school, St. The contrast between these two religious traditions became an important factor in his intellectual and artistic development. His grandmother, Véronique Nanakonagos, was a devout Catholic and from her he learned the tenets of Christianity. His grandfather, Moses Potan Nanakonagos, a traditional Medicine Man and Knowledge Keeper, taught him the traditions and legends of his people. In accordance with Anishnaabe tradition, he was raised by his maternal grandparents with little connection to his actual parents. His full name is Jean-Baptiste Norman Henry Morrisseau, but he signs his work using the Cree syllabics writing ᐅᓵᐚᐱᐦᑯᐱᓀᐦᓯ ( Ozaawaabiko-binesi, unpointed: ᐅᓴᐘᐱᑯᐱᓀᓯ, "Copper/Brass Bird"), as his pen-name for his Anishnaabe name ᒥᐢᒁᐱᐦᐠ ᐊᓂᒥᐦᑮ ( Miskwaabik Animikii, unpointed: ᒥᐢᑿᐱᐠ ᐊᓂᒥᑭ, "Copper Thunderbird"). He founded the Woodlands School of Canadian art and was a prominent member of the “ Indian Group of Seven."Īn Anishinaabe, Morrisseau was born March 14, 1932, on the Sand Point Ojibwe reserve near Beardmore, Ontario. His style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colors. 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. He is widely regarded as the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. Norval Morrisseau CM RCA (Ma– December 4, 2007), also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of syllabics. ![]() This article contains Canadian Aboriginal syllabic characters.
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