George Morrison was an artist I hadn’t heard of before and the US Post Office has some new stamps out featuring his artwork. They are very colorful!
Morrison (1919-2000) was a Native American (Ojibwe) landscape painter from Minnesota. His Ojibwe name was Wah Wah Teh Go Nay Ga Bo which means Standing in the Northern Lights. What a fabulous name! He was known for his colorful abstract landscapes and modernist style and for his wood collage sculptures.
He grew up poor with many siblings. After a childhood surgery, he spent time in a full body cast and that is when he started drawing. He studied at the Art Students League in NYC and became part of the abstract expressionist circle where he explored cubism and surrealism. He studied for a year in Paris on scholarship. He learned all the Western representational methods early on but moved to a more modernist and abstract style after his time in NYC.
Morrison used mosaic patterns in his paintings and challenged what people thought Native American art should be. I find it inspirational that he developed his own very unique artistic style that broke the boundaries for Native American and American art. I can understand why the Post Office selected this artist for their new art stamps.
I wonder how many other artists feel they are limited to certain styles. If you are an artist, do you feel constrained by rules or boundaries or do you feel free to explore all kinds of artistic endeavors?
I’d love to hear what you think!
To view some of his landscapes go to Minnesota Museum of American Art: https://web.archive.org/web/20131020173553/http://mmaa.org/pages/ModernSpirit/
Here are a couple of interesting videos about him: https://youtu.be/j3lSNwIkoVs
To order USPS stamps (sheet of 20 for $11.60) link here: https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/george-morrison-stamps-S_481804
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