George Morrison

Vertical Forms with Swimmer

In 1954, after completing a Fulbright fellowship in France, Ojibwe artist George Morrison moved from his home state of Minnesota to New York City, where he was quickly exposed to the burgeoning Abstract Expressionist movement. In response, he shifted from producing small-scale Cubist drawings to what he termed “one-shot,” large-scale paintings,1 which were “painted in one take” via large, gestural brushstrokes. These works, such as Vertical Forms with Swimmer, reflect the energetic movement of Morrison’s body as he swept his brush across the canvas. In this way, the piece is emblematic of “action painting,” a style that emerged during this period of Abstract Expressionism where process was prioritized over content. The work’s color palette of soft pinks, reds, blues, and greens turn the canvas into a body of murky water, an allusion that is further emphasized by the “swimmer” in the upper left corner of the painting.