Things to ponder (Part I)

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Despite being widely recognized as the father of contemporary aboriginal art and despite the pleas of some influential people, Morrisseau did not become part of the National Gallery of Canada's collection until 2000. As early as 1972, Selwyn Dewdney, an influential anthropologist and art enthusiast who befriended Morrisseau in northern Ontario early in his career, pressed the National Gallery of Canada to buy some of the artist's work. The gallery refused.

"I made a pitch at the National Gallery for inclusion of your work in the permanent collection but encountered deaf ears, Dewdney wrote Morrisseau. "It appears that if you're of Amerindian origin the proper place for your art is a museum!"

Selwyn Dewdney - Art aducator and noted expert on Ojibway art and anthropology. Edited Norval Morrisseau's book "Legends of My People, The Great Ojibway" / Toronto, Ryerson Press, 1965/