A painting associated with a famous First Nations painter has been removed from the Ontario Legislature Art Gallery because it may be a fake.
The painting, titled “Salmon Life Giving Spawn,” featuring four salmon, was reportedly painted by artist Norval Morrisseau in 1977 and was loaned to the gallery at Queen's Park by the Whetung Ojibwa Center in 2023.
However, concerns about the painting's authenticity led to legislative assembly staff removing the painting this week, various media outlets reported. Ontario Provincial Police also launched an investigation.
Norval Morrisseau died in 2007, leaving behind an extensive artistic legacy that is popular with fraudsters.
In March 2023, eight people were charged in Ontario in connection with a criminal conspiracy to mass reproduce thousands of counterfeit works by Morrisseau that were sold for millions of dollars.