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After 40 years in storage, a massive painting by Ojibway artist Norval Morrisseau has been unveiled at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery in northwestern Ontario.<\/p>\n
The Morrisseau Masterwork painting, at roughly 6.7 metres long and just over three metres high, hadn’t been viewed publicly since 1986.<\/p>\n
It’s on loan from EA Studios Calgary, which is collaborating with the gallery to mount the rolled, raw canvas from its collection on a stretcher \u2014 an auxiliary frame with expandable joints \u2014\u00a0 for conservation.<\/p>\n
The large Woodland Style mural depicts a gathering of adults, children, animals, birds and spiritual beings in a scene with natural elements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited. I have to tell you, the first time I unrolled it with our contractors, it was very overwhelming, but in a positive sense,” said Joseph Helmy, director of EA Studios Calgary. “This piece, it\u2019s just very spiritual. It\u2019s very powerful. It\u2019s really hard to describe.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThis piece, I think, is going to really bring a lot of people together…,” Helmy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve learned through the stories that my father has shared and through the expertise of Mr. Jonathan Manovich, Norval\u2019s paintings were created to tell his stories, but they were also created to bridge Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together \u2014 and that\u2019s what I hope that this painting will do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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This masterwork by Ojibway artist Norval Morrisseau had been in storage for four decades, before it was unveiled at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery on Friday. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Helmy\u2019s family began their relationship with the artist in 1985 when his father, Galal, was recommended to sponsor Morrisseau\u2019s work by Winnipeg art dealer Robert Checkwitch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Helmy said the artist called and told his father he dreamt he was painting for him in the Canadian Rockies, where he resided in Jasper, which intrigued him and prompted him to book Morrisseau on a flight to Alberta.<\/p>\n
Morrisseau continued to live and paint in a studio above EA Studios Calgary, which operated at the time out of the Maligne Canyon Tea House, during the winters until 1987.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis piece was actually painted for my father and he actually never had this hung on the wall before,\u201d Helmy said. It was shown only at a couple of Edmonton exhibitions and last shown in 1986, he added.<\/p>\n
Displayed \u2018where it all started\u2019<\/p>\n
The art studio has been working since 2025 with the Thunder Bay Art Gallery to unveil the artwork.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really have enjoyed working with them over the last two years to make this event happen,\u201d Helmy said.<\/p>\n
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Gallery staff mount the artwork and prepare to hang it for public to view in Thunder Bay. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n
This piece has returned to the place where Norval was born, Helmy noted. He said he couldn\u2019t think of a \u201cbetter place to start showing this piece back to the public view again.”<\/p>\n