Maria Chapdelaine

November 9, 2019 – February 2, 2020

About The Exhibition

Among the great treasures of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is a group of fifty-four jewel-like miniatures by the artist Clarence Gagnon. Completed in the early 1930s, these are the final paintings made for what is arguably the most famous illustrated book by a Canadian artist: Maria Chapdelaine, a novel written by the French novelist Louis Hémon and published in 1933 by Éditions Mornay in Paris. These paintings were gifted to the McMichael in 1969 by Colonel R.S. McLaughlin and were the first works by a francophone Quebec artist to enter the collection.

Due to conservation concerns these artworks can now be only displayed once every three years and the McMichael is delighted to have them on view for the 2019 holiday season. In addition, the McMichael will publish the entire suite of fifty-four illustrations as beautiful all-new plate reproductions for the first time. The book will be available in the Gallery Shop and includes an essay by Ian M. Thom, former Chief Curator at the McMichael and most recently, Senior Historical Curator for the Vancouver Art Gallery.