Norval Morrisseau’s Androgyny on Display at Rideau Hall

On September 18, 2008, Norval Morrisseau’s painting entitled Androgyny was installed in the Rideau Hall Ballroom. Morrisseau, who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1979, donated this painting to the Canadian people on April 15, 1983.

Androgyny is a spectacular piece, measuring of 3.66 metres high by 6.1 metres wide. Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean wrote:

“I was struck by one piece in particular, a striking, luminous and monumental painting of staggering vivacity that Morrisseau donated to the people of Canada in 1983 through the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s Indian and Inuit Art Centre.

“The title itself, Androgyny, is an invitation to dive into the vision he had of the fusion of beings and elements, the harmony that exists between people, the complementarity of the meeting of civilizations. (Art guides us through the opaqueness of life; this gives it power and makes it essential.) Morrisseau the shaman travels between different worlds to ward off fate and adversity. With Androgyny, he invites us to join the conversation and shows us that when One unites with Other, they become One.”

Androgyny, seen above, is on display at Rideau Hall until 2011.