George Morrison

George Morrison. . , “I seek the power of the rock, the magic of the water, the religion of the tree, the color of the wind, and the enigma of the horizon.” , ~George Morrison, George Morrison was a visionary, modern artist from the North Shore. He was given two Ojibwe names by Grand Portage elder Walter Caribou: Wah-wah-ta-ga-nah-gah-boo, Standing in the Northern Lights and Gwe-ki-ge-nah-gah-boo, Turning the Feather Around., A teacher and inspiration for many, George was the first Native artist to have their work displayed at the White House, when Bill Clinton accepted his Red Totem in 1997. You can see another of George's Red Totems at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic in Grand Marais. , George's work with found, beach objects was the inspiration for the sculptural panels within the arbor here at the Overlook Landing. Inspired by Gichi-gamiing, the shapes and rhythms of the natural world are always present in George's work. He defined himself as “an artist who happened to be Indian,” saying, “Gradually, the landscape themes crept through into my art. The indirect influences of land, water, and wood. I have never tried to prove that I was Indian by doing baskets, or painting feathers.” , Born in 1919 at Nishkwakwansing , where the trees meet the water. Chippewa City was a fishing village, one mile east of Grand Marais where George grew up with eleven siblings. George and his brother Bernard were sent to BIA boarding school in Hayward, Wisconsin for a time. He returned to Grand Marais, and after graduating in 1938, studied at the Minneapolis School of Art. , Red Rock in Grand Portage is where George lived out his life and artistic vision, a place of reverence and beauty.