Richard René
René Richard (1895-1982)
René Richard is a highly recognized Quebec painter of the 20th century. Born at Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, he moved to Canada with his family at a young age and lived in Alberta where his father established a general store. René worked with his father and spent his time trapping and canoeing down the Mackenzie River. By the time he was 28 years old he had explored the northern region up to the arctic Ocean joining Groups of natives in various hunting expeditions. His appreciation of the northern landscape is what gave him the desire to become an artist. In 1927 he traveled to Paris to learn painting with artist Clarence Gagnon. In 1940 René Richard settled at Baie St. Paul, Quebec to pursue his career as an artist. By the 1960’s He had become well known and many feature articles were written about him. Prior to his death in 1982 he received the order of Canada, he was represented in the collections of Queen Elizabeth II, England; The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; The Musée du Québec, Quebec City and the Montréal Museum of Fine Art. He had numerous solo shows and his paintings are found in many public and private collections.
