A major local connection if you are searching Google today.
A Google Doodle celebrating, honouring and recognizing the great artist Norval Morrisseau graces the main page.
It was done by Danielle Morrison and Dryden’s Blake Angeconeb in partnership with the Estate of Norval Morrisseau.
In a social media post, Angeconeb says, “It is a great honour to pay homage this Indigenous Peoples’ Day to Norval in art form. He shattered stereotypes and paved the way for Indigenous artists like us.”
Here is the back ground on Norval Morriseau from the Red Lake Heritage Centre archives:
Norval Morrisseau was born in Beardmore.
An Ojibway with a grade four education acquired at the St.Joseph’s Indian Boarding School in Fort William, he arrived in the Red Lake area in 1959 to work as a miner for Cochenour Willans Gold Mine.
A self-taught artist, in his spare time Morrisseau painted images interpreting the legends of his people, which he sold to local residents.
In May 1963 he quit mining but stayed in the area and became a full-time artist, supporting his growing family with his art.
Morrisseau gained international recognition as the founder of the Woodland School of Art and as the most influential Canadian artist of all time.
Morrisseau painted the main body of his early works (1958-1972) in the Red Lake area, and many of these paintings, as well as later ones, have been acquired by major Canadian art galleries and museums such as the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Royal Ontario Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and Rideau Hall.
Many international galleries also collected his paintings and frequently create exhibitions of his works.
