Untitled (Bear)
- Date
- late 20th century
- Material
- Ink on paper
- probably made in
- Canada, North and Central America
- Classification
- Drawings & watercolors
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 12 × 18 in. (30.5 × 45.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mills
- Rights
- © Estate of Norval Morrisseau
- Object Number
- 225:2019
NOTES
This profile of a bear reveals multitudes. Inside, energetic red waves connect a beaver, fish, and a transformational figure to each other and to the bold, fluid outline.
In the mid-1960s, Norval Morrisseau developed the distinctive graphic style seen here. His work combines elements of historic Anishinaabe art—especially X-ray views from pictographic rock art and birch bark scrolls of the religious Midewiwin society—with flowing, gestural lines. Morrisseau was the most famous Indigenous artist from Canada in the late 20th century. Numerous contemporaries responded to his innovations to establish the Woodlands style of contemporary First Nations art.
In the mid-1960s, Norval Morrisseau developed the distinctive graphic style seen here. His work combines elements of historic Anishinaabe art—especially X-ray views from pictographic rock art and birch bark scrolls of the religious Midewiwin society—with flowing, gestural lines. Morrisseau was the most famous Indigenous artist from Canada in the late 20th century. Numerous contemporaries responded to his innovations to establish the Woodlands style of contemporary First Nations art.
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