George Morrison American (Grand Portage Anishinaabe), 1919-2000 Untitled, 1994 Colored pencil and ink on paper Gift of Bill and Krista Thorburn 2016.131.8 © Briand Morrison

George Morrison: Drawings and Small Paintings

George Morrison: Drawings and Small Paintings

October 21, 2017 - July 1, 2018
Gallery 353
Free Exhibition

George Morrison (1919–2000) was a renowned Anishinaabe modernist from Minnesota whose visionary work was inspired by the natural world, a profound sense of place, and Native American thought and culture. Morrison believed that nature, particularly the sky and water, held a spiritual vitality, a transcendent force that could be experienced through an aesthetic rooted in abstraction and surrealism.  Emotive, personal, intuitive, and organic, Morrison’s approach was also deeply introspective, with Minnesota landscapes and the shoreline of Lake Superior serving as his principal subjects. Selected from the holdings of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, this exhibition highlights Morrison’s abiding interest in color, abstraction, the natural world, and creating art on an intimate scale. Featuring drawings in pen and ink, colored pencil, conté crayon, and gouache, the selection also includes several small acrylic horizon paintings.

Learn more about Morrison and his work on our Trending Now page.

George Morrison American (Grand Portage Anishinaabe), 1919-2000 Untitled, 1994 Colored pencil and ink on paper Gift of Bill and Krista Thorburn 2016.131.8 © Briand Morrison