Norval Morrisseau: "Miskwaabik Animiiki / Copper Thunderbird" (Graham Bezant Collection: Toronto Star)
“EA Studios has filed a defamation lawsuit against Norval Morrisseau Estate Ltd. and Cory Dingle, one of the leading voices calling out the rampant fraud of the pioneering Woodland School painter’s works,” according to a story this week in The Globe and Mail.
The Calgary-based gallery was connected to Morrisseau in the 1980s and says Dingle and the Morrisseau estate have defamed the gallery to steer collectors toward the defendants’ businesses.
“The $1.45-million lawsuit highlights the tensions over who gets a say in steering the painter’s legacy,” according to the Globe and Mail story.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Forgery allegations about Morrisseau's work go back decades. Thunder Bay Police first investigated alleged fakes in 2000. The 2019 documentary, There Are No Fakes traced the provenance of a supposed Morrisseau painting, Spirit Energy of Mother Earth, which was bought by Barenaked Ladies guitarist Kevin Hearn in 2005. It has been estimated that at least 4,500 Morrisseau forgeries are in circulation.
Source: Globe and Mail
Also see: McGill University Says Morrisseau Likely Fake
Morrisseau Art Fraud Ringleader Pleads Guilty
Ontario Provincial Police Arrest Eight in Norval Morrisseau Art Fraud Ring
David Voss Sentenced For Role in Morrisseau Art Fraud
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