'observation of the astral world' by norval morrisseau, 1990

on december 4, the ojibwa painter norval morrisseau died of complications from parkinson's disease in
toronto, canada; he was 75 years old. the artist was known as the first native artist to break into the
mainstream world of canadian art. his developed his style independent of the mainstream, being the first
to depict the legends and history of the ojibwa to the non-native world.

in ojibwa he was known as copper thunderbird, which was also the name he signed his paintings with.
his first exhibition was in 1962 at toronto's pollock gallery, where all his paintings sold in 24 hours.
he became an important part of the canadian art world, garnering the order of canada in 1978. in his
private life morrisseau struggled with alcoholism. he managed to overcome this and even continued
painting after parkinson's disease began slowing him down. it is estimated that he produced over
10,000 works in his lifetime.



'untitled (thunderbird)' by norval morrisseau, 1960


'artist and shaman between two worlds' by norval morrisseau, 1980


'shaman rider' by norval morrisseau, 1972


'water spirit' by norval morrisseau, 1972


norval morrisseau