Artists

Bruce Morrison grew up along the Des Moines River valley in NW Iowa. With a keen interest in the natural world, Bruce began photographing and drawing in nature at a young age; then took his interests to heart by attending the University of Iowa's School of Art where he received a BFA studio degree in Photography with double minors in painting and serigraphy.

Bruce's love of photography began nearly 60 years ago and in an unordinary sort of way; “I was busy trying to get pictures of birds so I could draw and paint them - since they wouldn’t hold still long enough for me! My first camera was an Ansco box camera of my Mother’s. It didn’t work well for that sort of thing so I saved my paper route money for well over a year and sent off for a single lens reflex camera and a 400mm telephoto lens...this was in 1963.”

Bruce's time outdoors with the camera also brought about a great love of the landscape, and Morrison found his niche with large (4X5) and medium (2 1/4X3 1/4) format cameras; and worked in the photography printing business for many years - doing work for museums, in the commercial fields and for the government...helping him hone his skills. And later as an adjunct photography instructor on the Community College level.

Morrison paints and draws the landscape as well as the flora and fauna of the tallgrass prairie. “I seek out and paint, draw or photograph actual locations. I like to document as well as ‘celebrate’ the natural and cultural heritage of our region.” His painting is done as plein air on location or in the studio.

Morrison now works as a professional artist out of his rural SE O’Brien County studio. Bruce and his wife Georgeann remodeled a former sheep barn/chicken brooding house on their property, to serve as Bruce’s workspace and gallery. “A great way to re-purpose a piece of our cultural heritage!”, says the artist. His work is in many corporate, public and private collections and may also be seen on his web site at – www.morrisons-studio.com or through his blog at – prairiepainter.blogspot.com

Bruce has exhibited Across the United States, Canada, and overseas. Just a few examples include:

– Blanden Memorial Art Museum, Ft Dodge, IA - Solo Exhibit – 1975
– “Birds in Art” - Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI - 1983, '85, '86, 2003, '20
– “Iowa Wildlife in Art” - 1984 through 1986
– Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA – 1986
– Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA – 1987
– Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum - Honolulu, HI – 1987
– People’s Republic Museum of Natural History - Beijing, China – 1987
– Audubon Exhibition of Alaskan Wildlife - Anchorage, Alaska – 1987
– Field Mouse Gallery, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada – 1988-1994
– “Artisans Road Trip” - NW Iowa - 2004 through 2017
– "From the Tallgrass” - Solo Exhibit - Arts on Grand, Spencer, IA – 2012
– "From the Tallgrass” - Solo Exhibit - Witter gallery, Storm Lake, IA – 2012
– "From the Tallgrass” - Solo Exhibit - Neal Smith NWR, Prairie City, IA – 2014
– 2017 Best in Show “Plein Air Exhibition” - Pearson Lakes Art Center, Okoboji, IA
– "Of Moment and Place” - Solo Exhibit - Pearson Lakes Art Center, Okoboji, IA - 2019-20