iconTechnique: oil, watercolor, drawing (lead pencil, charcoal, grease pencil, red chalk)
1895-1982
René Richard was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He arrived in Canada with his family in 1909.
In 1926, he took his first painting and drawing lessons in Edmonton. He then left for France, where he took painting lessons at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi, in Paris, from 1927 to 1930. During his stay, he became friends with Clarence Gagnon who encouraged him to devote himself entirely to his art.
He returned to Canada in 1930 and settled in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1942. He exhibited regularly in Quebec and Montreal. In 1952, he left for the Far North. In 1967, the Musée du Québec presented an individual exhibition of his work and ten years later, a retrospective exhibition. He illustrates “Ménaud, maître draveur” by Félix Antoine Savard.
René Richard is best known for his semi-abstract landscapes.
Collections
- National Gallery of Canada
- Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec
- Laure Conan Museum of La Malbaie
Honors
- Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy
- 1973 - Recipient of the Order of Canada
- 1982 - The Baie-Saint-Paul art center unveils a commemorative plaque in his memory.
- 1982 - Canada Post reproduces one of his works to represent the Northwest Territory in a series of stamps on Canadian art.