Born in Chippewa City, a remote Native American village on the shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, George Morrison (Wah-wah-ta-ga-nah-gah-boo and Gwe-ki-ge-nah-gah-boo, Grand Portage Chippewa, 1919–2000) overcame numerous challenges—poverty, a life-threatening childhood illness, social isolation, racial and cultural barriers—to become a leader of the Abstract Expressionist movement. His influence began in 1943 when he moved from rural Minnesota to New York City to study at the Art Students League on a scholarship.
In New York, Morrison immersed himself in the city’s vibrant cultural scenes. He studied painting and drawing, contributed to exhibitions and publications, and challenged the mainstream art establishment. He formed connections with artists such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Lois Dodd, and Louise Nevelson. Morrison’s appreciation for urban life—specifically industrial landscapes, jazz, and literature—shaped his artistic practice.
An exhibition explores how Morrison’s aesthetic inspiration drew from his love of New York. It features 25 of his important paintings and drawings from this period and culminates in his Horizon series. The exhibition also includes rare archival materials that place Morrison at the heart of the Abstract Expressionist movement in 1940s and 1950s New York.
The exhibition is made possible by the Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation and The Met’s Fund for Diverse Art Histories. It is accompanied by an issue of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.
“The Bulletin is made possible by the William Cullen Bryant Fellows of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
“The Met’s quarterly Bulletin program is supported, in part, by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for The Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
