>>> The story which preceded the 'Open Letter to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society'...

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... which was published on this platform four years ago TODAY.
/click HERE for the original post and for its revision click HERE/

 









>>> The following is the exact comment that Bryant Ross, director of Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery in Aldergrove BC, (eBay ID: coghlanart ) had posted on his eBay listing(s) during the period earlier in year of 2007.

This warning had been on his eBay listing(s) for months and he had changed the wording after he started getting flack from other vendors on eBay who have been severly damaged by this man's actions to control the secondary market.

Here is the wording from his listing as it was posted on his eBay auction listing before he changed it to a more benign manner of slander.

After staying there for months Bryant Ross has since removed his WARNING COMMENT off his eBay listings without a single apology to the rest of the ligitimate eBay vendors.


"WARNING"

"There continues to be many fake Morrisseau paintings being sold on ebay.

All the "original" Morrisseau paintings that have been on ebay since August '06 have been fake.

The sellers use the ebay User ID kept private feature so that people like myself can not contact the bidders to warn them.

Why would these sellers sell authentic paintings for a fraction of their value on ebay?

A certificate of authenticity means nothing. If you can fake the painting, you can fake the certificate. If they were authentic I would buy every one of them for more than they sell for on ebay.

Many legitimate galleries have been duped by the fakers.

These galleries continue to try to sell these paintings as the real thing, trying to recoup their losses.

I have worked for Morrisseau for more than 20 years. I am authorized by the artist to sell his work.

I have sold hundreds of paintings directly from the artist.

If you have questions I would be happy to try and answer them.

Before you purchase a Morrisseau painting, do your homework." -

>>> Months later, in March 2007, I have posted a genuine Norval Morrisseau for sale using the material presented below which came with a following WARNING COMMENT I used in respose to the provocative and damaging effect Bryant Ross caused to the Norval Morrisseau Art Market.


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"Untitled", acrylic on canvas, 29"x26", © 1978 Norval Morrisseau
~ click HERE to view the inscription on reverse side of canvas
~ eBay item number: 190094724189
/Click on image to Enlarge/ -


"WARNING"

To all my relations.

There are not many fake Morrisseau paintings being sold on Ebay as the certain Ebay member is stating in his sales.

Most of, if not all of, the "original" Morrisseau paintings that have been on Ebay have been authentic.

The sellers do not use the Ebay User ID kept private feature so that people like those concerned cannot contact the bidders to warn them. Is that really the case? I do not think so. I believe that person(s) concerned are there to try to scare the public about so called “fake” Morrisseaus for their personal gain.

Why would these sellers sell authentic paintings for a fraction of their value on Ebay? Because they are free to do so!

The individual that is stating that if they were authentic he would buy every one of them for more than they sell for on Ebay. I do not think so that he is truthful in his statement due to the fact that the same individual was contacted by other(s), and they have been offered the same kind of the “original” paintings by Norval Morrisseau and declared that: “He was only interested in the “originals” and not in “fake” Morrisseaus… even he was selling himself the same type of paintings on his Website few years ago (See the images below). I would not be surprised if he still keep them in his personal collection. If that is the case why he would keep “fakes” together with his “originals”. I am afraid I cannot answer to that question.


 









Left: Water Spirits", 1979 - Acrylic on canvas, 54" x 46";
Right:"Upper and Lower Worlds", 1978 - Acrylic on canvas, 34" x 80"
© Norval Morrisseau -


Many legitimate galleries have been duped by the fakers!? I do not think so, because the individual that is taking care of the artist is stating that all of the galleries throughout Canada are selling “fakes”. What a shame, if you ask me. Those that should have been taking care of the artist’s legacy as a one of the Greatest Canadian painters of all time are taking disrespectful steps to discredit anybody else in that matter.

They state that they have worked for Morrisseau for more than 20 years and that they are authorized by the artist to sell his work. So what? If they can ONLY show some respect to the artist on the end of his “Life Journey” and allow him peaceful departure to the “Land of Souls” all of the World will respect them more. This way – Shame on them.

If you have questions I would be happy to try and answer them.

Before you purchase a Morrisseau painting(s), follow your heart and do not listen Warnings with no solid ground!

Megweetch!"

NOTE: Large number of eBay vendors contacted me to express their dissatisfaction to Bryant Ross' 'WARNING' and provided full support to my reaction to his blatant and dissrespectful statement.

/click HERE, HERE & HERE for the comments of three eBay vendors/

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Bryant Ross (coghlanart) noted by eBay as a 'potential Buyer'?
~ The same 'potential Buyer' defaced one of the paintings above which were also part of 'the Norval Morrisseau Collage' presented to the NMHS (click HERE & HERE)
/Click on image to Enlarge/


>>> The following was Bryant Ross' reply which I used to write the "Open letter to Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society" (NMHS):

"Hi, my name is Bryant Ross and I am the director of Coghlan Art Studio and Gallery. I am the individual you refer to.

My warning on E-bay is not meant to scare anyone. It is meant to inform the public about the status of the Morrisseau paintings on E-bay. I am doing this at the request of the artist himself.

Out of all the paintings that I have displayed on my web site you had no trouble picking out the 2 fakes. I bought these 2 paintings from a dealer from Winnipeg. When Morrisseau told me that they were not his I realized that I had been ripped off and I took them off the market. I have since donated them at my own expense to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society to use as example of the fake paintings.

It has never been stated that all the galleries in Canada have fake paintings. But there are many fakes in the marketplace.

You seem to think that the motivation in this is money. The fact is that Norval Morrisseau does not want his legacy to include these fake paintings."

BLOG MASTER'S COMMENTS: -

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"Water Spirits", 1979 - Acrylic on canvas, 54" x 46"

/Click on image for a high resulution Enlargement/

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* Bottom right in 'Norval Morrisseau Collage'

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/www.coghlanart.com/ original file name: nm72.jpg/

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"Upper and Lower Worlds", 1978 - Acrylic on canvas, 34" x 80"

/Click on image for a high resulution Enlargement/

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* Top left in 'Norval Morrisseau Collage'

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/www.coghlanart.com/ original file name: nm73.jpg/

These two original Norval Morrisseau paintings were posted at Coghlan Art Virtual Gallery in May of 2005. As per Mr. Bryant Ross' statement "These paintings were guaranteed to be original and authentic and were obtained from the artist or authenticated by him." (click HERE and/or HERE for detailed explanation)

>>> The open letter to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society has NEVER been answered. I hope that other readers of this blog have more luck when they are addressing NORVAL MORRISSEAU HERITAGE SOCIETY via norvalmorrisseauheritage@gmail.com.

Actually, the answer on the above question is known and their reply is not really necessary. Mr. Bryant Ross, director of Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery, DID NOT TELL THE TRUTH when stated that "he donated these two paintings at his own expense to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society to use them as example of the fake paintings". As per his own admission on April 13th, 2008 he contradicted himself by exposing his deceitful nature:

"... I am some what confused. Is Spirit Walker saying these paintings are real or not. If he thinks they are real, then what does it matter what I have done with them. If he thinks they are not real then why does he think so many in this style are real.-These two paintings. Titled “Water Spirits” and “Upper and Lower Worlds” are FAKE. I can call them what they are because I own them. These paintings were put up for auction around the time that I became aware of their status. “Water Spirits” was pulled from the auction because of this and “Upper and lower Worlds” was returned by the buyer for a full refund. I then gave them to Morrisseau and Vadas to be forwarded to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society. The society did not have storage space for them so Morrisseau kept them. After he passed on they were returned to me. I still have them and will be using them in a forensic analysis of Morrisseau’s work

My hope is that forensic study can shed some light on what is happening here. This process will take considerable time to complete so do not except any instant information. I will make these findings public when I have them. This is at my own expense and is being done by an un-biased third party..."-

/Click HERE to view comment of Mr. Bryant Ross in its entirety or click HERE for its screen capture but I strongly advise to read the post Morrisseau History Detective Stories (Part I) with all of its pertaining comments./

Note: A Winnipeg art dealer mentioned in original post above was Mr. Antony (Tony) Martinenko who acquired above presented art pieces from Mr. Rolf Schneider of Thunder Bay, Ontario and sold them through Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery, Aldergrove, BC (Director, Mr. Bryant Ross).

* Many paintings presented on this blog were acquired from Mr. Rolf Schneider's Private Collection including paintings that come with Certificates of Authenticity signed by the artist (click HERE).

>> An anonymous commented for this post (published 2 days before Norval Morrisseau's passing) as follows:

"Bryant Ross claims to have donated the 2 supposedly fake paintings to the NMHS. Am I missing something or did I see at least one if not both of them up for auction just after they came off his website?? Does anybody else remember these pieces - I think they were then up for auction on one of the Live ebay auctions from a seller out west - the one with the fish didn't sell if I recall - Am I missing something or has the untouchable Bryant Ross been caught selling what he considers fakes to the unsuspecting public??? Someone please correct me if I am wrong." 07 December, 2007 15:39

> Even Ritchie R. Sinclair a.k.a. Stardreamer gave to one of these paintings a compliment: "And a beautiful Morrisseau it is - so embued with Vision!" 24 December, 2007 01:58 only to label it at a later date as an "Inferior Counterfeit Morrisseau" at his defamatory website http://www.morrisseau.com/ (click HERE or HERE).


IMPORTANT NOTES: This painting "Water Spirts" for which Ritchie R. Sinclair gave compliment "And a beautiful Morrisseau it is - so embued with Vision!" was defaced on January 27, 2010 by Bryant Ross who is director of Coghlan Art Studio & Gallery in Aldergrove, BC. This act of vandalism was reported by Ms. Katie Mercer ( "The Province" reporter) in her "Portrait of a scandal" article which content was in full support by Kinsman Robinson Galleries as posted on their twitter at http://twitter.com/KinsmanRobinson (click HERE to view a twit which surfaced on the day of Ms. Katie Mercer's print/online article or click HERE for this twit's screen capture).

* This online article "Portrait of a scandal" has been deleted by "The Province" editors and as of August 2010 it is not available for viewing anymore (click HERE for a screen capture of this online article). Printed version of this article, in which an important statement from the 'National Art Gallery of Canada' was taken out of context to support Katie Mercer's newspaper article, will be presented on the NORVAL MORRISSEAU BLOG very soon.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/FINAL STATEMENT:

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Illustration by Spirit Walker -- 
"NORVAL MORRISSEAU HERITAGE SOCIETY (NMHS)", 2005-2011


"The Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society was established at the request of Norval Morrisseau to research, document and preserve his artistic achievement and protect the integrity of his art. It seeks to achieve this mission by establishing and maintaining a registry of his works, publishing and updating a catalogue raisonne of his artistic output and providing the necessary expertise to authenticate his art."

Mission Statement -

~ Committee members of the NMHS are as follows:

* Elizabeth McLuhan - Dept. of History, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba;
* Dr. Ruth Philips - Professor of Art History, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario;
* Greg Hill - Audain Curator and Head of the Department of Indigenous Art at National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario;

* Lee Ann Martin - Curator of Contemporary Canadian Aboriginal Art, Museum of Civilization (not a member anymore);
* Viviane Gray - Indian and Inuit Art Centre, Dept. of Indian Affairs & Northern Development, Ottawa, Ontario (not a member anymore);
* Carmen Robertson -  an associate professor of contemporary Aboriginal art history in the Department of Visual Arts, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan (a NEW member);
* Richard H. Baker - Barrister and Solicitor.

> NMHS could be contacted at norvalmorrisseauheritage@gmail.com or you may click above on each NMHS members' names to e-mail them about your questions, concernes & satisfaction or dissatisfaction of their achievements to date.

BLOG MASTER'S FINAL STATEMENT: Why are they silent? Is their silence approval for what has been happening in the Norval Morrisseau Art Market? If they truly care in "protecting the integrity of Norval Morrisseau's art" they would need to speak up. Their silence is hurting the legacy of the man they are supposed to protect and the longer they wait to publish a public statement regarding this matter presented herein, the longer the legacy of Norval Morrisseau will suffer.

Ugo Matulić a.k.a. Spirit Walker
/spiritwalker2008@gmail.com//

> For the purposes of this blog I would like to be referred to as Spirit Walker. Miigwetch!


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>>> Reference Posts:

- Painting that was for sale...,
- Another painting that was for sale...,
- Open Letter to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society,
- The truth behind 'Open Letter to the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society',
- Blasphemy (Part II) &
- Norval Morrisseau Conspiracy Unveiled (Part XXVIII). -
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