Ron Joensen Collection
There are five Morrisseau paintings on loan from Ron Joensen, of Cochenour, Ontario, who inherited them from his parents.  As a child, Ron lived on McKenzie Island. His parents, Peter and Rose (Lennard) Joensen, owned and ran the store/cafe called McKenzie Meats from 1954-1974. They lived on the top floor.  Ron and his sister, Mavis, remember that Morrisseau, who lived in a small house up the hill from McKenzie Meats, was often in the store conversing with their father. 

Peter, as well as others, tried to help Morrisseau control his alcohol use by refusing to buy art from him when it seemed his intention was to drink.  Ron remembers that his mother formed a bond with two of Morrisseau’s younger children who continued to visit her after their parents separated in 1975.  Rose was not sympathetic to Morrisseau when his children seemed to do without, while he spent money elsewhere.  He may have been trying to gain her approval when he specifically gave her the “Jesus” (Christ’s head) piece.

These paintings were acquired circa 1968 but did not hang in the Joensen home until the family moved from McKenzie Island to Cochenour in 1974.  They show clear, simple images with indications of the “lines of movement” near the internal organs.  The larger fish painting shows more complex x-ray decoration. 

The teepee shapes on the beaver’s back represent the traditional importance of this animal to Ojibway survival. 

(Christ head), ca. 1968
Acrylic on paper
34 x 23.6 cm
Ron Joensen Collection

(beaver), ca. 1968
Acrylic on paper
26.3 x 36 cm
Ron Joensen Collection

(moose), ca.1969
Acrylic on paper
26.3 x 36 cm
Ron Joensen Collection

Forward