Jean Palardy (1905November 28, 1991) was a French-Canadian painter, art historian, ethnologist and filmmaker.

Biography

Born in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

, Palardy moved with his family to Canada as a child in 1908, one of eight children. He was educated at Collège Saint-Laurent and the séminaire de Sainte-Thérèse, before studying at the

École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. He married painter

Jori Smith Marjorie "Jori" Smith, (January 1, 1907 – November 25, 2005) was a key figure in the 1930s in initiating Canada's modernist art movement. She was a founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society in 1939. Biography Smith was born in Montreal, ...

in 1930. Palardy and Smith were both members of the

League for Social Reconstruction The League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) was a circle of Canadian socialists officially formed in 1932. The group advocated for social and economic reformation as well as political education. The formation of the LSR was provoked by events such ...

, with his interest in French Canadian rural life influenced by his political beliefs. Artist Jack Humphrey stayed with Palardy and his wife,

, while living briefly in Montreal, with the three of them in poverty, supporting themselves during the winter of 1933 by painting matchboxes. He was responsible for the interior design of the in Quebec's Laurentian region in 1939. He joined the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) in 1941 and over 19 years directed a number of short films there including '' The Rising Tide'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject at the

22nd Academy Awards The 22nd Academy Awards were held on March 23, 1950, at the RKO Pantages Theatre, honoring the films in 1949. This was the final year in which all five Best Picture nominees were in Black & White, and the first year in which every film no ...

. In 1963, he wrote his influential book on French Canadian design, ''Les Meubles anciens du Canada français'', for which he received a grant from the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

. Palardy consulted on the restoration of the vessel ''

Grande Hermine ''Grande Hermine'' (; "great ermine") was the name of the carrack that brought Jacques Cartier to Saint-Pierre on 15 June 1535, and upon which he discovered the estuary of the St. Lawrence River and the St. Lawrence Iroquoian settlement of St ...

'' as well as that of the

Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two siege ...

. In 1975, he started restorations on the Jacques Cartier house. He also consulted for number of museums including the

château Ramezay The Château Ramezay is a museum and historic building on Notre-Dame Street in Old Montreal, opposite Montreal City Hall in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of Montreal, Claude de Ramezay, the Châtea ...

, McCord Museum,

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

and the David M. Stewart Museum.

Filmography

as director

*1947 - ' *1949 - '' The Rising Tide'' *1951 - ''Oyster Man'' *1951 - ''Îles-de-la-Madeleine'' *1952 - ''

The Bird Fancier ''The Bird Fancier'' (french: L'Homme aux oiseaux) is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Bernard Devlin and Jean Palardy and released in 1952. Written by Roger Lemelin, the film tells the story of a man whose passion for birds is bordering ...

(L'Homme aux oiseaux)'' *1954 - ''Sorel'' *1954 - ''Bush Doctor'' *1954 - ''Artist in Montreal'' ('' On the Spot'' series) *1955 - ''Two Countries, One Street'' *1955 - ''Soirée de chantiers'' *1955 - ''The Lumberjack'' *1955 - ''Eye Witness No. 71'' *1955 - ''Chantier coopératif'' *1956 - ''Designed for Living'' *1956 - ''Agronomy'' *1957 - ''Carnival in Quebec'' *1959 - ''Correlieu''

as screenwriter

*1949 ' *1954 ''Sorel'' *1954 ''Bush Doctor'' *1955 ''Soirée de chantiers''

as cinematographer

*1955 ''Soirée de chantiers'' *1955 ''Eye Witness No. 71''

as producer

*1955 ''Soirée de chantiers''

Honours

* Officer,

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

(1967) * Certificate of merit,

Canadian Historical Association The Canadian Historical Association (CHA; French ''Société historique du Canada'', SHC) is a Canadian organization founded in 1922 for the purposes of promoting historical research and scholarship. It is a bilingual, not-for-profit, charitable o ...

(1975) * Grand Officier,

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

(1992, posthumously)

References

External links

*
Biography
Quebec in Cinema
Watch films directed by Jean Palardy
at the National Film Board of Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Palardy, Jean 1905 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Canadian art historians Film directors from Quebec National Film Board of Canada people Officers of the Order of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec French Quebecers People from Fitchburg, Massachusetts École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni Canadian ethnologists Canadian documentary film directors American emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian male artists