Announced November 1, 2021:

One of the nation’s greatest modernist artists and a founding figure of Native American modernism, George Morrison (1919-2000) challenged prevailing ideas of what Native American art should be, arguing that an artist’s identity can exist independently from the nature of the art he creates. Morrison is best known for his abstract landscapes and monumental wood collages. A pane of 20 colorful stamps showcases five of Morrison’s artworks. The selvage features a photograph of the artist in his home studio. Antonio Alcalá was the art director and designer for this stamp pane.

The Scott catalogue number for this issue:

5688 Sun and River
a. Imperforate
5689 Phenomena Against the Crimson: Lake Superior Landscape
a. Imperforate
5690 Lake Superior Landscape
a. Imperforate
5691 Spirit Path, New Day Red Rock Variation: Lake Superior Landscape
a. Imperforate
5692 Untitled
a. Imperforate
b. Vert. strip of 5, #5688-5692
c. Imperforate vert. strip of 5, #5688-5692

Additional information will be posted below the line, with the newest at the top.

Updated March 30th:
Here is what the full pane looks like:Updated March 30th:
Here are the designs for the first-day postmarks:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.89″ x 1.12“. The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.19″ x 1.17“.The “Special” postmark is for use only by post offices after the first-day. We do not have a measurement for it.

Updated March 17th:
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Native American Modernist Artist George Morrison Memorialized
on New Forever Stamps

WHAT: The U.S. Postal Service honors George Morrison (1919-2000), one of the nation’s greatest modernist artists and founding figure of Native American modernism, with a set of five stamps showcasing his work.

The first-day-of-issue event for the George Morrison Forever stamps is free and open to the public. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag#GeorgeMorrisonStamps.

WHO: Steve Monteith, chief customer and marketing officer and executive vice president, U.S. Postal Service

Briand Mesaba Morrison, Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, musician and interdisciplinary artist

Hazel Belvo, artist and Minneapolis College of Art and Design Professor Emerita

Kristin Makholm, art historian and co-author of the book Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison

Andrea Carlson, (Grand Portage Anishinaabe and Scandinavian descent), visual artist and writer

Christina Woods (Anamacikwe), Member of the Bois Forte Tribal Nation,
Executive Director Duluth Art Institute, US Senate Curatorial Advisory Board

John Morrin (Giniwogichada), committeeman, Grand Portage Tribal Council

Robert Deschampe, Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Chairman of Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Elizabeth Drost, Grand Portage Ojibwe, Executive Director of the Cook County/Grand Marais Joint Economic Development Authority

WHEN: Friday, April 22, 2022, at 1 p.m. CDT

WHERE:
Grand Portage National Monument
170 Mile Creek Road
Grand Portage, MN 55605

RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at:usps.com/georgemorrison

BACKGROUND: One of the nation’s greatest modernist artists and a founding figure of Native American modernism, George Morrison challenged prevailing ideas of what Native American art should be, arguing that an artist’s identity can exist independently from the nature of the art he creates. He is best known for his abstract landscape paintings and monumental wood collages, which draw on childhood memory and reflect a deep and abiding connection with the natural world.

Many of his works feature a prominent horizon line inspired consciously and subconsciously by his childhood on the shore of Lake Superior. Representing the space where sky and water meet, the horizon line also marks the boundary between known and unknown, a mystery that Morrison repeatedly explored, even as he continued to refine his modernist vision.