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Artworks
NORVAL MORRISSEAU, C.M. (1931-2007) ANISHINAABE (OJIBWE)
Loon of Ontario, early-mid 1960sink and tempera on heavy wove paper, 19 x 26 in (48 x 66 cm)
signed, "ᐅᓴᐘ/ᐱᑯᐱ/ᓀᓯ";
titled by the artist in blue ink, verso, "Loons [sic] of Ontario".LOT 78
ESTIMATE: $1,200 — $1,800
PRICE REALIZED: $2,640.00As mentioned in Lot 71, Morrisseau's works from the early 1960s display a clear influence of traditional Anishnaabe art, as illustrated by his earthy palette and choice to depict his...As mentioned in Lot 71, Morrisseau's works from the early 1960s display a clear influence of traditional Anishnaabe art, as illustrated by his earthy palette and choice to depict his figures in a summary style that was akin to the rock paintings or pictographs. Of this particular period, Elizabeth McLuhan wrote, "Works executed between 1960 and 1963 clearly illustrate Morrisseau's successful adaptation of pictography to painterly mode" [1]. Here, the "x-ray" style functions well to show that the loon happily sings out because his belly is full of fish.
1. Elizabeth McLuhan, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984), p. 55
For works of a similar vintage, see: Norval Morrisseau, Moose Dream Legend, 1962, illustrated inCarmen Robertson, Norval Morrisseau: His Life & Work, (Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2016), p. 40.
Provenance
D&J Ritchie, Toronto, 8 December 1986, Lot 47, illustrated p. 12;
Acquired from the above. by a Private Collection, Ontario;
Bequeathed to the present Private Collection, Hamilton.
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