Paul-Vanier Beaulieu was born in Saint-Louis Square in Montreal in 1910 and died in 1996. The eldest of eight children, he was initiated to painting by his father, a lawyer and art lover. In 1927, he registered at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal where he met Jean-Paul Lemieux and Stanley Cosgrove. In 1938, he was in Montparnasse and was fortunate enough to have a workshop on Campagne-Première Street, a few steps from famous cafés frequented by Picasso, Zadkine, Calvé, Giacometti and hundreds of other artists, among which Canadian artists like Pellan and Dallaire.