U.S. #5692
2022 58¢ George Morrison
Issue Date: April 22, 2022
First Day City: Grand Portage, MN
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 18,000,000
Though he was most famous as a painter, George Morrison (1919-2000) earned wide acclaim for his wooden sculptures and reliefs.
Morrison's sculptures grew out of his long-time habit of collecting driftwood off beaches. When he summered in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and missed home, he collected wood from the shore. He began working this found wood into massive sculptures and horizontal mosaic reliefs. They were instantly popular – usually selling before he was even done creating them.
Morrison called his collages "paintings in wood." Much like his abstract paintings, they depicted landscapes. He said the driftwood "gives a sense of history – wood that has a connection to the earth, yet has come from the water." The driftwood had leftover paint, rust stains, and nail holes, which Morrison saw as part of their history. They were connections to the people and places from its past.
Morrison also began crafting his own kind of totems. He researched historic monoliths from around the world and crafted large free-standing wooden works with elaborate patterns drawn from nature.
Morrison's sculptures won several awards and were exhibited at the White House. They're often the most popular artworks in the museums or other locations where they're displayed.