Untitled (Blue Painting)

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)
Artist: George Morrison
Date: 1958
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
3rd Floor
/
North Wing
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: canvas
oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Abstract
Object Number: 2021.12
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.