Fine arts
The Musée’s fine arts collection is represented by 525 works acquired over the years. It includes numerous artists across various disciplines such as painting, engraving, sculpting, stamping, drawing, etc. The field of fine arts is mainly represented by the four collections described here.
André Michel
Born in Provence on July 22, 1945, André Michel spent his childhood and teenage years in Le Pontet, in the suburbs of Avignon. While pursuing studies in classical philosophy at the Lycée Frédéric Mistral to obtain his bachelor’s degree, he took drawing classes at the École des beaux-arts d’Avignon behind his parents’ back, winning first prize.
Along with teaching, he pursued a career in art. His passion for painting was strengthened after meeting Salvador Dalí in Avignon and Portlligat. At the same time, he created a surrealist aesthetic movement, called “positionism”, which balances objects in space. At the age of 21, his works were exhibited at the Ror Volmar Gallery in Paris.
Invited to exhibit his works in Montreal, Canada in 1970, he briefly integrated a teacher exchange so he could extend his stay. Fascinated by the landscapes of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he settled soon after in Sept-Îles. He made oil paintings he then showed in Havana, at the Musée de l’Homme, at the National Museum of Popular Cultures in Mexico, and at the Peoples’ Friendship House in Moscow. With his paintings, books and conferences, the artist aimed to raise awareness about the First Nations people of Quebec. He was the founder of three museums located in Sept-Îles: the Musée des Sept-Îles, at the Vieux-Poste (1975); the Musée régional de la Côte-Nord (1986) and the Shaputuan Museum. In the region of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, in the suburbs of Montreal, where he has been living since 1988, he worked on founding the Musée des beaux-arts de Mont-Saint-Hilaire (1995), the Maison amérindienne (2000), the Maison Paul-Émile-Borduas (2001), then the Maison natale d’Ozias Leduc (2005).
The André Michel/Fine Arts collection comprises 22 works across these artistic mediums: paintings (10), drawings (9), stamping (1), poster (1), lithography (1) and, last but not least, the mosaic entitled “Les Muses” that adorns the floor of the Musée’s lobby.
Urgel Pelletier
Dr. Urgel Pelletier was born in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Gaspésie. As soon as he obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree at Université Laval in 1960, he settled in Sept-Îles, where he would practice medicine for nearly thirty years. In 1990, he was awarded the Ordre du Mérite nord-côtier; in 1991, the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval awarded him the Joseph-Painchaud medal in recognition of his professional success and his social engagement in various areas of activity.
Known and appreciated for his skills, community engagement and generosity for nearly forty years, Dr. Pelletier donated twelve works from his personal collection to the Musée in 1987.
The following year, this friend of the arts donated 60 more works by Canadian artists. Among the significant works from this collection, highlights include the 25 works by his painter friend René Richard, a handwritten poem by Gilles Vigneault as well as the very beautiful book Mon oncle Antoine, illustrated with six original silk-screen prints by Antoine Provost.
Contents: 85 works, silk-screen prints, drawings, oil canvas paintings and lithographs by the following artists: Hugh John Barret, Monique Mercier, Jean-Guy Barbeau, Paul Soulikias, Alfred Pellan, Marcelle Maltais, Aristide Gagnon, André Michel, Réal Arsenault, René Gagnon, Jean-Julien Bourgault, Antoine Dumas, Lorne Bouchard, Antoine Provost and René Richard.
Paul Provencher
Logging engineer and woodsman Paul Provencher was already mentioned above. In addition to his many talents, he was an artist and a painter.
The 93 paintings made by Provencher and owned by the Musée are mainly watercolours. They show slices of Innu life, Innu families, hunting and fishing expeditions experienced by the artist, as well as Côte-Nord landscapes. Of note, some environments reproduced by the artist no longer exist nowadays, having been flooded by hydroelectric dam reservoirs that now stand on the Manicouagan, Toulnustouc and Outardes rivers.
Figurines by Lucien-Gabriel Jourdain and Sabrina Genest
The creation of this magnificent set of figurines began in Uashat, Sept-Îles, in 1981. Produced by Lucien-Gabriel Jourdain, an Innu born in Uashat, and Sabrina Genest, born in Schefferville, the 35 small scenes by these artists faithfully depict, down to the last detail, the gestures and manifestations of traditional Innu culture that they were designed to perpetuate.
Depictions include cleaning beaver pelts, making moccasins, building a canoe, degreasing caribou hides, lacing snowshoes, making Montagnais hammocks, cooking bannock, preparing medicinal plants, harpoon fishing, etc.
The materials that go into making these figurines mainly come from nature: red clay for the faces, wood for the hands, sheep’s wool for the hair, birch bark for the bases, and metal frames and insulation for the bodies. Clothing is made of cotton, felt, wool, leather or smoked caribou hide. Lastly, tools and jewellery are made of caribou bone and silver.