Untitled (Blue Painting)

George Morrison, Untitled (Blue Painting), 1958, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2021.12, © 2020, Briand Morrison
George Morrison, Untitled (Blue Painting), 1958, oil on canvas, overall: 41 × 54 in. (104.1 × 137.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2021.12, © 2020, Briand Morrison

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Blue Painting)
Date
1958
Dimensions
overall: 41 × 54 in. (104.1 × 137.2 cm)
Copyright
© 2020, Briand Morrison
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2021.12

Artwork Description

"The basis of all art," George Morrison once stated, "is nature." Suggestions of sky, water, and rock emerge often in his abstract paintings. A member of the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, Morrison grew up in a rural community on the rugged northern shore of Lake Superior before studying art in Minneapolis and New York City.

The luminous quality of this work was achieved through the application of blue, green, red, and orange paint over a darker maroon background. Projecting a quiet yet joyous mood, Untitled (Blue Painting) suggests a sublime vision of a natural scene.

Works by this artist (2 items)

Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, 1865, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor Blodgett, 1911.4.1
Aurora Borealis
Date1865
oil on canvas
On view
Frederic Edwin Church, Cotopaxi, 1855, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Frank R. McCoy, 1965.12
Cotopaxi
Date1855
oil on canvas
On view

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William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
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John Henry Twachtman, Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife), ca. 1890-1900, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.137
Figure in Sunlight (Artist’s Wife)
Dateca. 1890-1900
oil on canvas
On view
Unidentified (Italian), Saint, 19th century, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney, 1952.13.157
Saint
Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
Date19th century
oil on canvas
Not on view