René Richard (1895-1982) RCA
Title: Charlevoix
Size: 13” x 15” (19 1/4” x 21 1/4” framed) ……………$4,950.00
René Richard could best be described as a Canadian voyageur artist, who’s broad sweeping brushstrokes flowed effortlessly to capture the wilderness. Collectors avidly seek out his works of the North, especially those with working dogs, trappers, woodsmen, and prospectors at camps.
Born in Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Richard emigrated to Montreal, Quebec with his parents where they lived for a few years before moving north to Cold Lake, Alberta. It is here that René’s father operated a general store / trading post. René loved nature and outdoors life, becoming an excellent woodsman and trapper. He developed an ambition to study art and eventually saved enough money to travel to Paris in the fall of 1927. Here he meet the noted Canadian artist Clarence Gagnon who would offer René advice and critique his work. In 1930, funds exhausted, Richard returned to Canada working in mining camps and traveling in northern country drawing and sketching. He eventually settled at Baie St. Quebec in 1940 where he met and married Blanche Simon. From 1945 on-wards, Richard would start continually exhibiting his works with numerous solo showings.
He was a recipient of the Order of Canada in 1973 and in 1980 he was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy. His works are represented in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Musée du Québec, Quebec City, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, to name a few.
Richard died at the age of 86 at Baie-Saint-Paul (1982).
Copyright of the artist and or the artist estate.