George Morrison

George Morrison works sell at auction for a median of $3,900, with major paintings reaching six figures. Revere Auctions has sold 49 of the 144 Morrison lots sold at auction anywhere since 2018. That is 34% of the entire market, across 44 auction houses, at a median of $6,500. We also hold the artist’s auction record at $450,000. We offer free auction estimates: send photographs of the work, the signature and the reverse.

George Morrison at Revere Auctions

Revere has sold more George Morrison than any other auction house, and not by a small margin. Of the 17 Morrison lots that sold between $25,000 and $75,000 anywhere in the country since 2018, 11 were ours.

Revere Auctions results. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

“White Painting” sold here in April 2026 for $450,000 and remains the highest price paid for a Morrison at auction. For context, the next-highest result anywhere is $280,000, and a major international house sold one in May 2026 for $130,000. This is a market Revere helped make, and it is one of the few artists where a St. Paul saleroom is the strongest venue in the country.

George Morrison, “White Painting”, 1975. Sold $450,000 by Revere Auctions in April 2026. It is the artist’s auction record.

What a George Morrison Is Worth

Morrison worked across painting, drawing, printmaking and wood collage over roughly fifty years, and the range at auction is correspondingly wide.

Based on 144 sold lots. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

78 of those 144 lots cleared $3,000 and 21 cleared $25,000. That is an unusually strong distribution: this is not an artist where most of the market is decorative. At the same time, 23 lots sold under $1,000, and those are almost entirely prints. Knowing which of the two you have is the whole question, and it is usually answerable from photographs.

Who George Morrison Was

George Morrison (1919 to 2000) was born in Chippewa City on the North Shore of Lake Superior and was an enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He trained at the Minneapolis School of Art and then at the Art Students League in New York, and a Fulbright took him to Paris in 1952.

What matters for the market is that he was a New York School painter, not a regional one. He worked in Manhattan through the 1950s alongside the Abstract Expressionists and exhibited with them. He taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, then returned to Minnesota in 1970 to teach at the University of Minnesota, and retired in 1983 to Grand Portage, where he built a studio on the lake he called Red Rock.

Morrison resisted being filed under “Native American artist” as though that were a separate and smaller category. He was an American modernist who was Ojibwe, and both halves of that are load bearing. The market has moved decisively in his favour as that reading has taken hold: the top five auction results for his work have all occurred since 2023.

George Morrison, “Spring Interval”, a Horizon painting, in its original frame. Sold $60,000 by Revere Auctions.

The Horizon Paintings and the Wood Collages

Two bodies of work account for most of what comes to auction, and they behave differently.

The Horizon paintings. Small, wide, densely worked canvases with a hard horizon line set high in the composition, made from the 1980s onward and drawn from Lake Superior. They are the most recognisable thing he made and they carry the strongest prices after the major early canvases. Revere has sold several between $26,000 and $60,000.

The wood collages. Assembled from driftwood and lumber scrap, much of it collected on the lake shore. They are his signature form and are what most people picture. Be aware that they do not automatically outsell the paintings. The collages that come to auction are often the smaller ones, and the median for them sits below that for canvases. Size and date matter enormously here.

The pen and ink line drawings are the quiet surprise. Dense, all-over automatic drawings from the 1960s and 1970s, they are cheap to store and easy to overlook in an estate. Revere has sold two at $65,000 and $40,000.

What Changes the Price

Date. The 1950s and 1960s New York work is the most valuable, followed by the mature Horizon paintings. Late minor works are worth considerably less.

Signature and inscription. Morrison usually signed and frequently dated and titled on the reverse. Photograph the back of the work, the stretcher and any gallery or exhibition labels. Labels are provenance and provenance is money on an artist with a strong museum record.

Medium. An oil on canvas and a print of a similar image are separated by two orders of magnitude. If the surface is flat, evenly coloured and has a plate mark or an edition number in pencil, it is a print.

Condition on the collages. Wood moves, and lifting or replaced elements are common and matter. Do not attempt to reglue anything before it has been looked at.

George Morrison Appraisals

An auction estimate and a formal appraisal answer different questions.

A free auction estimate tells you what a piece would likely sell for at auction. It costs nothing and it is usually enough to decide whether to sell. Send photographs including the base and we will respond with a range.

A formal written appraisal is a signed document stating a value for a stated purpose: insurance, estate settlement and probate, or charitable donation. It is a paid service written to a different standard of value, and insurance appraisals in particular are normally higher than the auction estimate for the same piece.

Revere Auctions provides both through our appraisal and valuation services team. If you are not sure which you need, ask for the free auction estimate first.

How to Sell George Morrison

The strongest results for a George Morrison come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related guides: Minnesota artists, George Morrison’s American landscapes, a George Morrison painting in detail, Jim Denomie paintings, our fine art department.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

George Morrison: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a George Morrison painting worth?

The median for all George Morrison lots at auction is $3,900, but major paintings reach six figures. Horizon paintings and significant canvases typically bring $25,000 to $130,000, works on paper $1,000 to $65,000, and prints $400 to $2,500. The auction record is $450,000, set at Revere Auctions in April 2026.

What is the George Morrison auction record?

The record is $450,000 for “White Painting” of 1975, sold by Revere Auctions in April 2026. The next-highest result anywhere is $280,000.

Who was George Morrison the artist?

George Morrison (1919-2000) was an Ojibwe painter and sculptor from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, born on the North Shore of Lake Superior. He trained at the Minneapolis School of Art and the Art Students League, worked in New York alongside the Abstract Expressionists in the 1950s, and later taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Minnesota.

What are George Morrison’s Horizon paintings?

The Horizon paintings are small, wide canvases with a hard horizon line set high in the composition, made from the 1980s onward and drawn from Lake Superior. They are his most recognisable paintings and among the strongest performers at auction, commonly $25,000 to $60,000.

Where is the best place to sell a George Morrison?

Revere Auctions has sold 49 of the 144 George Morrison lots sold at auction anywhere since 2018, more than any other house, and holds the artist’s $450,000 auction record. Send photographs of the work, the signature and the reverse for a free auction estimate.

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