A Stroke Of Genius: Clarence Gagnon

Artist Clarence Gagnon was born in Montreal, Quebec on November 8th, 1881. Gagnon was a painter, illustrator, engraver and draughtsman. He was known for his landscape paintings of the Charlevoix region of Canada and the Laurentians.

Canadian Village Grey Day, 1912, www.wikiart.org

Village in the Laurentians, www.royalcanvas.ca

His father Alphonse E. Gagnon, a milling manager wanted Clarence to go into business but his cultivated English mother wanted him to learn how to paint and draw. At the age of 16 in 1897, Gagnon studied with Canadian painter William Brymner at the Art Association of Montreal. Wanting to desperately learn more about art, Gagnon went to the Academie Julian in Paris, studying under artist Jean-Paul Laurens from 1904-1905. While in Paris, he met artist James Wilson Morrice. Before returning to Canada in 1909, Gagnon also spent time painting in Italy.

La Salute Venice, 1911, www.wikiart.org

He settled in Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec where he painted the Canadian people and nature, inventing a new form of winter landscape which consisted of strong colors, sharp contrasts and winding lines of mountains and valleys.

Twilight Baie Saint Paul, 1924, www.wikiart.org

In 1919, Gagnon married Lucile Rodier, a fellow pupil of Willian Brymner.

The Pond in October, 1921, www.wikiart.org

The 1920's was an active decade for Gagnon. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1922 and traveled to places such as Venice, Saint-Malo, Rouen and the Laurentians. He moved to France in 1924 for 8 years and became an illustrator for French writer Louis-Frédéric Rouquette in 1929.

Laurentian Village, 1927, www.wikiart.org

Horse Racing in Winter, 1927, www.wikiart.org

Gagnon moved back to Canada in 1936 where he spent the last 6 years of his life. He passed away at the age of 60 in Montreal in 1942. In his honor, a bust was erected of Gagnon by the Galerie Clarence Gagnon in Quebec City.

Etching- Mon Saint Michel, 1908, www.wikiart.org

Many of Gagnon's works can be seen in galleries across Canada. You can find his etchings and paintings located at the Art Gallery of Ontario, National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, the Musee National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and many more. Many of his other works can be found outside of Canada including London, Liverpool, Manchester, Argentina and Paris.

As someone who grew up in Canada and spent a lot of time in the Canadian countryside(especially during the winter), Gagnon's work reminds me of all the times I spent there. Being with my family at my aunt's farm, driving around, spending time in small towns, looking at the other old farmhouses and buildings, so many memories come to mind when I look at Gagnon's work. And although we come from different times and provinces, the colors of the buildings and the landscape are spot on. He depicts Canada during the seasons entirely.

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