George Norris - Environmentalist, trail maker, mapper, painter, and teacher.

by Emery Sanderson Museum Summer Assistant

The Crab (1968)

Many know of the colossal, six-metre-tall stainless-steel crab outside of Vancouver's MacMillan Space centre or the abstract, intertwined, Dynamic Mobile Steel Sculpture (1979) in the entrance to the Victoria public library. Or, perhaps attentive locals have seen the intricate carvings of the Shawnigan Community Centre or own a map, or painting, carefully signed G.A. Norris, but how many know the artist behind all this?

George Norris was born on December 24^th, 1928, in Victoria. After being raised in Victoria, Norris attended the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr university). In 1955 Norris was awarded one of three British Council scholarships to study arts somewhere in the U.K. Norris chose to study sculpture at the widely renowned Slade School of Fine Art in London.

Following the completion of his formal schooling, he returned to Vancouver to start his professional career. Soon after his return to Vancouver, Norris married Phyllis Piddington of Esquimalt in 1960. Phyllis had a long history in Shawnigan Lake with a family property on the west side of the lake. George and Phyllis had three kids together; Anna, Samuel, and Alexander.

After a few busy decades in Vancouver, Norris and his family decided to relocate, in 1983, to

George Norris

quieter Shawnigan Lake. Moving to Shawnigan soon marked the end of his professional career. However, this was when Norris was to become more known locally. In his years at Shawnigan, Norris became heavily involved in the community, teaching carving and undertaking projects to benefit the community as a whole.

Unfortunately, after many happy years in Shawnigan, around 2008, Norris suffered a head injury on one of his countless hiking expeditions. This injury forced Norris to move to Victoria. Subsequently, Norris passed away on March 12^th, 2013, at 84.

Norris had quite a long career as a sculptor. Some of his most notable works include The Crab (1968), unofficially dubbed one of the most photographed locations in British Columbia, and ‘The Prairie Chicken’ (1975), at the University of Calgary. Locally, Norris oversaw all of the carvings at the new Shawnigan Lake Community Centre.

More than a sculptor, Norris was a noted environmentalist, trail maker, mapper, painter, and teacher. He became well known in the Shawnigan area for producing custom maps of the local area and trails, and for maintaining and documenting paths for people to get closer to their environment.

Interestingly enough, as an artist working in physical forms, Norris was a self-proclaimed anti-materialist, preferring a simple life over one full of luxury and what he saw as unneeded clutter.

Something else unorthodox about Norris was his resistance to the cult of personality that has been long popular in the art world. Many know Van Gogh or Cézanne, but how many could name any of their works? Norris wanted the opposite to be true. Undoubtedly, he wanted people to see his work, as it is all public work, but he didn’t want his name or a given name for the piece to influence the perception of his work. Whether he ever even considered himself an artist is up for debate.

This places Norris in a unique position as an artist, one which will be the topic of debate for long to come.

Memories of George Norris - Robin LeGarff

I remember George organizing programs in the then-new community centre, somehow inviting artists, musicians, composers – all kinds of talent – for general discussion about, say, the ‘atmosphere for art in the area’ or ‘depth of familiarity with the making and distribution of violin bows’. Esoteric items perhaps, but well attended.

I remember in particular one such session where the topic (whatever might have been intended) soon became a roundhouse meeting of like minds; it was soon apparent that several of the guitar and banjo makers were unaware of each others existence, and that was true also for two bow-makers. Many of the individuals had global sales and contacts, but were unaware of each other’s existence. Like hobbyists, they were soon comparing their sources for wood, horse-hair, glue, ivory and ebony – and the only common point of convergence was George. And here, in the Cowichan Valley, we had artisans whose products were gracing concert halls all over the world.

One of George’s interests was mapping existing trails, and because of my business as a land surveyor I soon stared locating (roughly, with compass and chain) the many trails around Shawnigan. My paper output increased and so did Georges, but where I felt constrained to 8 ½ x 11 sheets, he soon had expanded my output to cover most of one wall of his loft, in colour. That’s how it started: Blue for waterways, green and brown for the trails themselves with comments in his fine text.

Works

Year	Name	Location	Address	Photograph
1955	Mother and Child	Library, University of British Columbia
1963	(wall panels)	McPherson Library, University of Victoria
1967	(concrete freise)	Postal Station D	2405 Pine Street, Vancouver, BC
1967	Man about to Plant Alfalfa	H. R. MacMillan Building, University of British Columbia
1967	The Swimmer	Vancouver Aquatic Centre	1050 Beach Ave, Vancouver, BC
1968	Untitled	Frank A. Forward Building, University of British Columbia
1968	The Crab	Museum of Vancouver / H. R. MacMillan Space Centre	1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver, BC
Pot Jan 23, 2026
1971	Capilano Heights Fountain
1972		Georgia Viaduct Park
1974		Pacific Centre Plaza	701 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC
1975	"The Prairie Chicken"	Swann Mall, University of Calgary
1979	Dynamic Mobile Steel Sculpture	Victoria Public Library	735 Broughton St, Victoria, BC
1990	(front door lintel)	Shawnigan Lake Community Centre	2804 Shawnigan Lake Rd, Shawnigan Lake, BC