What was Norval Morrisseau known for? Why is Norval Morrisseau controversial?

Norval Morrisseau was an indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation who was mainly regarded as the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada.

Why is Norval Morrisseau controversial?

Norval Morrisseau was a very respected painter and artist in Canada and some parts of the world. However, towards his death, there were so many controversies surrounding him and his artworks. It was alleged that there was a forgery ring that attempted to pass off possibly 3,000 fake paintings as originals.

In 2005, a man named Kevin Hearn bought an original -or he thought – painting of Norval Morrisseau, however, the dealer could not prove how genuine it is and it caused a stir. For several years now, there have been several claims that most of Morrisseau’s paintings, some say 1000s of them are part of a ring of forgery that have raked in millions of dollars. Art owners have also retorted that these are just mere allegations, and that, the artworks by Norval Morrisseau they own are very original.