From the Author
As curator of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec I had the privilege of exploring and studying the institution’s rich holdings of the work of the artist Jean Paul Lemieux. My research and publications on Lemieux are greatly indebted to Marie Carani, my doctoral thesis director at the Université Laval, whose indispensable book on the Québecois painter, published in 1992, eloquently documented his contribution to twentieth-century figurative art. Her inspiring work provided the solid base for new research, which I could not have accomplished without the generous and thoughtful support of Yves Lacasse and the prompt, efficient, and perceptive assistance of Nathalie Thibault and Nicole Gastonguay of the MNBAQ.
The great pleasure I had in writing this online book is due in no small measure to the trust that developed between me and Dominique Denis, ACI French-language editor, translator, and editorial director, whose keen understanding and unfailing care were the keys to an exceptional rapport, and the best working relationship any author could wish for. Finally, I would like to thank Laurier Lacroix, John Geoghegan, Sara Angel, Doris Cowan, and Kendra Ward for their invaluable counsel at every stage of this wonderful project.
From the Art Canada Institute
This online art book was made possible thanks to BMO Financial Group, Lead Sponsor for the Canadian Online Art Book Project. Much gratitude goes to the Title Sponsor for this publication: The McLean Foundation as well as Title Benefactor: Pierre Lassonde.
The Art Canada Institute gratefully acknowledges the other sponsors for the 2015–16 Season: Aimia, Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., the Hal Jackman Foundation, K. James Harrison, Sandra L. Simpson, and TD Bank.
Thanks also to the Art Canada Institute Founding Patrons: Sara and Michael Angel, Jalynn H. Bennett, the Butterfield Family Foundation, David and Vivian Campbell, Albert E. Cummings, Kiki and Ian Delaney, the Fleck Family, Roger and Kevin Garland, the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation, The Scott Griffin Foundation, Michelle Koerner and Kevin Doyle, Phil Lind, Sarah and Tom Milroy, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau, Gerald Sheff and Shanitha Kachan, Sandra L. Simpson, Pam and Mike Stein, and Robin and David Young; as well as its Founding Partner Patrons: The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and Partners in Art.
For their research support and generous contribution of images to this publication, the ACI gratefully acknowledges the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Shannon Parker); Art Gallery of Ontario (Jim Shedden); Carleton University Art Gallery (Sandra Dyck); Confederation Centre for the Arts (Paige Matthie); Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives (Donald Rance); Gestion A.S.L. (André Michaud); Heffel Canada (Kirbi Pitt); Dr. Heather Hume; McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Janine Butler and Ki-in Wong); Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Marie-Claude Saia); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (Véronique Malouin); Musée de la Civilization; Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Lina Doyon); National Gallery of Canada (Kristin Rothschild, Raven Amiro, and Erica Dole); Public Works and Government Services Canada (Suzie Robitaille); Queen’s University Archives (Heather Home); Dr. Jonathan Rittenhouse; Joan Roberts; Royal Trust Collection (Karen Lawson); University of Toronto (Heather Pigat); and Winnipeg Art Gallery (Nicole Fletcher).
The lines from the song “1910 Remembered,” which appear with the key work Julie and the Universe, are published with the permission of Jean Lapointe and Marcel Lefebvre.
Image Sources
Every effort has been made to secure permissions for all copyrighted material. The Art Canada Institute will gladly correct any errors or omissions.
Credits for Banner Images
Biography: Jean Paul Lemieux painting portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1977. Fonds Basil Zarov, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3607395). Photograph by Basil Zarov.
Key Works: Jean Paul Lemieux, The Ursuline Nuns (Les Ursulines), 1951. (See below for details.)
Significance & Critical Issues: Jean Paul Lemieux, Julie and the Universe (Julie et l’univers), 1965. (See below for details.)
Style & Technique: Jean Paul Lemieux, A Day in the Country (Une journée à la campagne), 1967. (See below for details.)
Sources & Resources: Jean Paul Lemieux, Ericson Exploring a Montreal Street, 1972. (See below for details.)
Where to See: Jean Paul and Madeleine Lemieux at Lemieux’s 1967 retrospective at the Musée du Québec (now the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec). (See below for details.)
American Gothic, 1930, by Grant Wood. Art Institute of Chicago, Friends of American Art Collection (1930.934).
“A New Modern Setting in Montreal,” by Jean Paul Lemieux. Technique: Revue industrielle/Industrial Review, Montreal, vol. 10, no. 9 (November 1935), 444.
Hillside, Lake Alphonse, 1942, by Goodridge Roberts. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario (1984.20).
Illustration by Jean Paul Lemieux from Robert Choquette’s La pension Leblanc (1927). Montreal and New York: Les éditions du Mercure.
Illustration by Jean Paul Lemieux from Robert Choquette’s La pension Leblanc (1927). Montreal-New York: Les éditions du Mercure.
Jean Paul Lemieux, by Marie Carani (Quebec City: Musée du Québec/Les Publications du Québec, 1992). Exhibition catalogue.
Jean Paul Lemieux and Guy Viau, 1967. National Gallery of Canada Library & Archives, Ottawa.
Madeleine and Jean Paul Lemieux on their wedding day, 1937. Fonds Jean Paul Lemieux et Madeleine Des Rosiers, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3607389).
Jean Paul Lemieux in front of a pathway in Charlevoix. Fonds Jean Paul Lemieux et Madeleine Des Rosiers, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3607393).
Jean Paul Lemieux in winter, Quebec, c. 1955–63. Rosemary Gilliat Eaton Fonds, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (4316752). Photograph by Rosemary Gilliat Eaton.
Jean Paul Lemieux, la poétique de la souvenance by Guy Robert (Quebec City: Éditions Garneau, 1968).
Jean Paul Lemieux with his brother at the Kent House hotel, c. 1910. Fonds Jean Paul Lemieux et Madeleine Des Rosiers, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3607384).
Jean Paul Lemieux writing on a sketchpad, 1977. Fonds Basil Zarov, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3596183). Photography by Basil Zarov.
Leaders of the Federation of Canadian Artists at a meeting in Toronto in May 1942. André Biéler Fonds, Queens University Archives.
Lemieux and his students during the Saturday drawing classes, 1948. Fonds Jean Paul Lemieux et Madeleine Des Rosiers, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3607382).
Passing Shadows, Nicolet River (Les ombres qui passent, rivière Nicolet), 1925, by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté. Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City (1934.14).
Madeleine and Jean Paul Lemieux at Lemieux’s 1967 retrospective at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Courtesy Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City.
Springtime, c. 1894–99, by Maurice Denis. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of David Allen Devrishian, 1999 (1999.180.2a,b).
Students of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, c. 1927. Fonds Jean Paul Lemieux et Madeleine Des Rosiers, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (3612641).
Art Canada Institute
Massey College, University of Toronto
4 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON M5S 2E1
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Grandbois, Michèle, 1954-
[Jean Paul Lemieux. English]
Jean Paul Lemieux : life & work / Michèle Grandbois ; translator, Doris Cowan.
Includes bibliographical references.
Contents: Biography — Key works — Significance & critical issues — Style &
technique — Sources & resources — Where to see.
Electronic monograph.
ISBN 978-1-4871-0082-7 (pdf). —ISBN 978-1-4871-0080-3 (epub)
1. Lemieux, Jean-Paul, 1904-1990. 2. Lemieux, Jean-Paul, 1904-1990—Criticism
and interpretation. 3. Painters—Québec (Province)—Biography. I. Art Canada Institute,
issuing body II. Title. III. Title: Jean Paul Lemieux. English
Michèle Grandbois holds a doctorate in history from the Université Laval à Québec. She has been a professor and curator, and is currently an independent researcher.
![Art Canada Institute, Jean Paul Lemieux, Art Canada Institute, Jean Paul Lemieux, Untitled (Soldier) (Sans titre [Soldat] ), 1982](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/art-books_10_jean-paul-lemieux-untitled-soldier-contextual.jpg)
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