The Art of George Morrison and Allan Houser: The Development and Impact of Native Modernism

On October 21, 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington DC celebrated its one-month anniversary with a report of 305,503 visitors.¹ It would be safe to assume that at least one-third of those people visited or passed through the third floor exhibit, Native Modernism: The Art of George Morrison and Allan Houser. Even more visitors saw the signage or read published materials with the artists' names. Undoubtedly, the timing and placement of Native Modernism as one of the inaugural exhibitions will affect the prominence of Allan Houser (1914–94, Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache) and George Morrison (1919–2000, Grand Portage Band of Chippewas) on a national level. Although the exhibit lasts only one year, it carries historical significance for the museum and for the artists.

The significance and the impact it carries will be explored and explained along with the exhibition design and development process. For over two years I acted as the assistant to the NMAI curator of contemporary art, Truman Lowe (Ho-Chunk), working on Native Modernism and the Continuum 12 Artists exhibition for the New York museum. Choosing Morrison and Houser was a deliberate decision by Lowe and was supported by the executive museum staff. Delving into the lives and works of Morrison and Houser will help elucidate that choice and its effects.

The Artists

The idea for a retrospective on George Morrison and Allan Houser as one of the inaugural exhibitions came from the NMAI curator of contemporary art, Truman Lowe. An artist and sculptor himself, Lowe knew both artists personally and saw them as mentors and visionaries. During his interview for the curator position, the panel asked him what exhibition he would propose for the Washington DC museum. Without hesitation, Lowe advised an exhibition on Morrison and Houser due to their effect on contemporary Native art and future generations of artists. After he explained his idea further, the panel agreed.

Lowe learned about Morrison when he was a student in graduate school seeking out a topic for a research project.² Morrison became a role model for the young, emerging artist—both were born in the Midwest to Native parents and had been raised among their traditions.³ When Lowe saw an article on Morrison illustrated with a photo taken in his New York City loft, he admired Morrison's determination to seek out his dream on the East Coast.⁴

George Morrison was born in 1919 in Chippewa City, Minnesota, near the Grand Portage reservation along Lake Superior. His parents raised him and his eleven siblings in the Chippewa traditions and language. He went to boarding school in Wisconsin but returned to Minnesota at the age of ten for treatment of tuberculosis of the hip. He spent a year at a children's hospital in Saint Paul where he immersed himself in books and drawing.⁵

Morrison attended the local Grand Marais High School in Minnesota studying industrial arts. Loans and scholarships from the Consolidated Chippewa Agency helped Morrison further his art studies at the Minnesota School of Art from 1938 to 1943. Upon graduation, he received a Vanderlip Traveling Scholarship and studied at the Arts Students League in New York City. Morrison thrived in New York, studying under Morris Kantor, meeting and exhibiting with other artists, and being immersed in the American...