Quite apart from the so-called Woodlands School of his fellow Anishinaabe artists, Angus Trudeau is a self-taught artist whose passion for his home of the Manitoulin Islands is evident in the cheerful works that he created. Norisle, Manitowaning Bay exemplifies Trudeau's flat, stylised composition of the ferry boats, lake freighters, and other ships that populated the bays of Lake Huron.

Although it is uncertain when the artist began to paint, Trudeau’s initial foray into the commercial art world came by way of trading one of his pictures to the Mastin family — where it hung in their general store — in satisfaction of a debt. This method of bartering places Trudeau within the legacy of other self-taught artists, such as Maud Lewis and Horace Pippin, who traded their artworks in exchange for goods and services. Unlike these artists, however, Trudeau occasionally employed a collage method in his two-dimensional works. This technique was perhaps to aid him in accomplishing what he felt that he did not have the graphic skills to convey, or was possibly a result of his model making, where the artist made use of whatever materials were at hand, including Pez candies. In Norisle, Manitowaning Bay, the anchor at the bow of the steamship has been clipped from an island newspaper, or perhaps a postcard, and affixed to the heavy card by the artist.

This picture is dated after 1975, as the inspiration for the scene was drawn from a photo essay on the Norisle, which was moored in the Manitowaning harbour after being decommissioned and replaced by the Chi-cheemaun in 1974. Beyond the mighty ferry, we see the Manitoulin Roller Mills and Burns Wharf warehouse, which the artist has meticulously identified, despite his limited knowledge of the English language. In the foreground is the extremely rare inclusion of two figures docking a boat; the human element is usually absent in Trudeau’s ship portraits. Equally striking is Trudeau’s rendering of a cloud-filled sky in which he achieves an airy quality and delicacy that is rarely seen in non-academic paintings. It makes a lovely contrast with the calm waters and the shoreline below.

References: For a biographical account of the artist, see Av Isaac’s remembrances as well as Ian Thom’s introduction in Angus Trudeau’s Manitoulin (Kleinburg, Ontario, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1987). Planning for this retrospective at the McMichael is extensively documented in Av Isaac’s fonds. See, files 1996-036/025(34 & 35) - [TIG artist files] Trudeau, Angus: Correspondence, etc. at York University Archives & Special Collections (CTASC), Toronto. Contained in this folder is also a photograph of a ship model made by the artist of the Norisle. For the photo essays that inspired the artist’s works, see Manitoulin Expositor, 10 April 1975, p. 1 and 24 July 1975, various.