artists

Jean-Philippe Dallaire (1916-1965)

Raised in a working-class family of 15, he started drawing at age 11.
Though he registered in various art classes, he was mostly self-taught. In October 1938, with the support of a Québec government grant, Dallaire went to Paris, where he attended the Atelier d'art sacré, the Lhote studio and worked in his Montmartre studio.
He became familiar with the work of Picasso and the surrealists and met Alfred Pellan. Under the German Occupation (1940-44) he was prisoner at St-Denis. He taught painting at the École des beaux-arts in Québec City 1946-52, worked for the National Film Board in Ottawa 1952-57, mostly illustrating animated films, then lived and painted in Montréal from 1957-59. In 1959 he went to Europe to stay. He died of heart failure, thus ending prematurely a brilliant career. Dallaire's works show varied stylistic influences and are always recognized by their draftsmanship and spontaneity in subject and use of colour.


Untitled (Seated woman) La folle