Norval Morrisseau Signature Comparison (Part I)

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>>> Presented below are previously published paintings signed by Norval Morrisseau in one of the signing styles he exercised in the 1970's and 1980's...
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Exhibit #1
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"They Made Me a God Among Men", acrylic on canvas, 36"x24",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
* Click HERE to view the original post this painting originally appeared in
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"They Made Me a God Among Men" (Verso), acrylic on canvas, 36"x24",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
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Exibit #2
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"Erotic Couple", acrylic on canvas, 36"x24",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
* Click HERE to view the original post this painting originally appeared in
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"Erotic Couple" (Verso), acrylic on canvas, 36"x24",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
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Exibit #3
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"My Children", acrylic on canvas, 24"x36",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlage/
* Click HERE to view the original post this painting originally appeared in
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"My Children" (Verso), acrylic on canvas, 24"x36",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
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Exibit #4
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"Don Robinson - Wasakajak", acrylic on cardboard, 60"x27",
© 1989 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
* Click HERE to view the original post this painting originally appeared in
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"Don Robinson - Wasakajak" (Verso), acrylic on cardboard, 60"x27",
© 1989 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
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Exibit #5
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"Christ My Savior", acrylic on canvas, 24"x20",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
* Click HERE to view the original post this painting originally appeared in and click HERE for the 'You Tube' presentation of this artwork's painting technique analysis
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"Christ My Savior" (Verso), acrylic on canvas, 24"x20",
© 1980 Norval Morrisseau /Click on image to Enlarge/
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>>> Click HERE to view all signatures presented above side by side.
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Note the presence of the copyright symbol © and consistency in drawing a dash before and after the artwork's title. Also, he indicated the year of execution by painting just last two digits preceded with an apostrophe.
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Norval Morrisseau painted the initial of his first name and placed a dot after it in all of the five exhibits.
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In Norval Morrisseau's last name the two upper case letters 'R' are painted by him in a same fashion as in letters he wrote.
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Note the letter ''i'' in Norval Morrisseau's last name and how it is dotted up and to the right of the letter bar's top end. The letter ''i'' is also done in a lowercase script manner and found separated.
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Let us examine the first middle letter S as it appears in Morrisseau's last name. Here we have a most remarkable similarity between the look of this letter and the second Cree syllabic letter that Norval Morrisseau paints onto the fronts of his creations! Did Morrisseau do this consciously or subconsciously? One can only speculate. The syllabics read ''Copper Thunderbird'' on the front of the canvases. The letter S here is always separated in his written signature and Morrisseau painted the letter this way as well. This is a characteristic of his calligraphic style and is seen many times in his written letters on paper and also reflected in his painted signature on the reverse of the canvases he created.
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It is very important to mention that in his last name Norval Morrisseau would always paint the last letter 's' and letter 'e' connected in same fashion as his handwritten form as presented in the painting samples presented in this post.
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These are some of the tell-tale signs of authentic Norval Morrisseau's signature characteristics but there are few variations and inconsistencies that are not addressed in this Norval Morrisseau signature comparison. Click HERE for more information on Norval Morrisseau's signing habits/techniques. For novice collectors I strongly recommend reading Mr. Michael Moniz's "Morrisseau Signature Identification Article 101" (Part I).
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>> Related story/link: In oder to provide legitimacy to their pieces collectors along with vendors including Toronto galleries who had pronounced the pieces genuine; commissioned a report on the signatures in English 'Norval Morrisseau' found on the front and back of the paintings. The Document Examination Consultants Inc. (who are a forensic services company based out in Ottawa Canada) were provided with publicly known letters/pictures and many signature specimens done by Norval Morrisseau and concluded that the signatures that were able to be read were in their 'expert opinion' done by the hand of Norval Morrisseau. This was considered solid evidence of the legitimacy of the pieces (click HERE, HERE & HERE to view forensic signature analysis reports for three Norval Morrisseau artworks painted in the 1970s).
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Q: "Why do galleries feel that they need to provide legitimacy to their art pieces of Norval Morrisseau? Should a gallery not be confident (and responsible) in what they are selling?"
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A: "Galleries do feel a need to provide legitimacy to their pieces in the above stated way. Today it is now safer than ever before to purchase valuable art painted by Norval Morrissau. With an ever growing database of forensic analysis to draw from. We can authenticate this artist's work easily and professionally. Thus eliminating any trepidation for collectors... novice and seasoned."
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NOTE: In the 'Norval Morrisseau Signature Study' posts presented on this blog, We are eager to introduce numerous examples from known sources with provenance. We will use letters addressed by Norval Morrisseau/canvases and officially embossed signatures by Norval Morrisseau. As well as serigraphs to analyze Norval Morrisseau's signature as it is found on his artwork. This study is to confirm and introduce to the novice and seasoned collector the many aspects of Norval Morrisseau's caligraphy found painted most often on the reverse and front of his canvases.Signatures on limited edition serigraphs, books and other means of correspondence will also be submitted.-
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~ All readers, collectors and admirers of Norval Morrisseau are invited to share your images (drawings, paintings, newspaper articles and painted objects), handwritten and other documents pertaining to the artistic legacy of Norval Morrisseau to be publicly articled on this blog... for the record.~
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Spirit Walker
/spiritwalker2008@gmail.com/-
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>>> Reference posts:
- Norval Morrisseau Genuine Collage,
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part I),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part II),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part III),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part IV),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part V),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part VI),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part VII),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part VIII),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part IX),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part X),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part XI),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part XII),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part XIII),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part XIV),
- Norval Morrisseau Signature Study (Part XV),
- "Morrisseau Signature Identification Article 101" (Part I),
- Understanding Art of Norval Morrisseau (Part I),
- Understanding Art of Norval Morrisseau (Part V) /'Christ My Savior'/ &
- "The Writing On The Wall... Norval Morrisseau Conspiracy Exposed".
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* All of the authentic Norrval Morrisseau's paintings presented in this post are from Private Collection of Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker (Calgary, Alberta);
~ All of the paintings presented above have provenance leading directly to the artist.