Claude Le Sauteur ARC / RCA

Claude Le Sauteur is a Québec painter born on October 7, 1926, in Rivière-Pentecôte, on the North Shore, and he died in Québec City on November 29, 2007. He entered the École des beaux-arts de Montréal in 1945 and studied under Jean Paul Lemieux, Jean Dallaire and Omer Parent. Upon graduating in 1950, he chose landscapes as a theme, those of Vieux-Québec, the Gaspé Peninsula and Charlevoix, using oil on canvass, oil pastel, charcoal on paper and etching techniques. Since making a living from your art was difficult at that time, he worked as a graphic designer in the field of printing and he freelanced in advertising while still painting in his free time. It was only when he retired in 1980, that he could dedicate himself totally to his passion. In 1986, Claude Le Sauteur finally settled in Charlevoix (Les Éboulements), a region devoted to art and heritage and whose influence on his art would be significant, both in the form and the subject. And to quote historians Serge Gauthier and Christian Harvey: ‘’ Head and shoulders above the rest; that is quite possibly the most defining characteristic of the figures found in the works of artist and painter Claude Le Sauteur. Although the faces can seem vague and even ill-defined at first glance, the head dominates nonetheless. It is neither tortured nor fractured. There is no veneer of surrealism; the artist’s every move is composed and calculated. The tone is just right. The keen mind of a lighthouse keeper knows how to observe. Claude Le Sauteur was both renowned and subtle, well-loved by both the great and small of the land. The colours found in his depictions of Quebec’s landscapes, scenes and heroes are vibrant, yet soothing. Like a lighthouse keeper, Claude Le Sauteur had his eye set on the horizon, and now many are seeking to understand his stunning perspective on a facet of our national and regional history that, up until now, has almost been entirely ignored.’’

Throughout his career, Claude Le Sauteur participated in numerous collective and individual exhibitions, both in Québec and in Ontario. He also received several commissions such as five paintings for the Fédération des caisses Desjardins de Montréal on the theme of solidarity (1984) and another one on the theme of hospitality for Relais&Châteaux of Paris, the design of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (1992), four murals and a dome for the Power Corporation of Canada rotunda in Montreal (1995), five paintings on Québec legends, the illustration of the Supreme Court stamp for Canada Post, etc. In 1995, Tapisserie royale (France) commissioned an Aubusson tapestry from one of his original paintings.

Claude Le Sauteur is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1989), a recipient of the Québec Lieutenant Governor’s Medal (1950) and the Alphonse-Desjardins Medal (1984). He is also a knight of the National Order of Québec (2000) and a member of the Order of Canada (2000). As for his artworks, they are part of numerous private and public collections.

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