Adrien Hébert (April12, 1890 June26, 1967) was a painter who has been called the first interpreter of Quebec modernity. He was inspired by the port of Montreal and the city itself.

Career

Adrien Hébert was born in Paris, France where his father, Canadian sculptor

Louis-Philippe Hébert Louis-Philippe Hébert (; 27 January 1850 – 13 June 1917) was a Canadian sculptor. He is considered one of the best sculptors of his generation. Career Hébert was the son of Théophile Hébert, a farmer, and Julie Bourgeois of Ste-Sophie d ...

was at work casting his work in bronze.A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada His brother Henri Hébert also was a sculptor. From 1902 to 1911, Adrien Hébert studied art with Edmond Dyonnet,

Joseph Franchère Joseph Franchère (August 15, 1785 – 1824 or later) was a political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Bedford in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1820 and from 1822 to 1824. He was born in Quebec City, the son of Antoine Fr ...

, and others at the Monument National. From 1907 to 1911, he also attended the Art Association of Montreal studying with

William Brymner William Brymner, (December 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) was a Canadian figure and landscape painter and educator. In addition to playing a key role in the development of Impressionism in Canada, Brymner taught numerous artists who became leadi ...

. In 1914, he studied in the studio of

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (; 24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biog ...

in Paris. He returned to Montreal in 1914 and was appointed a teacher of drawing for the Catholic School Board of Montréal where he served for 35 years.

Work

Hébert's work has a refined and direct approach, especially in his street scenes and his interiors. In 1924 he began to turn his attention to the Port of Montreal as a subject for painting: it was to become a favourite theme. He returned to France on several occasions but he made firm ties in Montreal where in 1950 he moved into a workshop on Labelle Street. In 1909, he began to show his work at the Spring Salon of the Art Association of Montreal, where it won the Jessie Dow Prize three times (he showed there till 1954). He also showed regularly at the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

(1910-1960). He was a member of the

Beaver Hall Group The Beaver Hall Group refers to a Montreal-based group of Canadians, Canadian painters who met in the late 1910s while studying art at a school run by the Art Association of Montreal. The Group is notable for its equal inclusion of men and women ar ...

along with his brother and showed there. He showed his work in Paris (1931); at the Watson Art Gallery (1936); and had a solo show at the Arts Club of Montreal (1963). During World War II he painted the locomotives undergoing repair at the C.P.R. Angus Shops. After his death, in 1971, the National Gallery of Canada with the help of T. R. MacDonald organized and toured an exhibition entitled ''Adrien Hébert, Thirty Years of his Work'', and in the summer of 1993, the Musée du Québec commemorated Hebert with an exhibition dedicated to his art. His work also was included in the exhibition ''1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group'' (2015). He was made an associate member of the

in 1932 and elected an academician in 1941. He was a member of the Arts Club of Montreal for more than forty years. Hébert died in 1967. His work is included in the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

, the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is located in National Battlefields Park and is a complex of four buildings. Three of them were purpose-built for ...

the

Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

and others.

Record sale prices

At the Cowley Abbott Auction, Important Canadian Art (Sale 2), December 1, 2022, Lot #108, ''The Eaton's Window, Montreal'' (1937), oil on canvas, 32 x 48.25 ins ( 81.3 x 122.6 cms ), Auction Estimate: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00, realized a price of $408,000.00.

Career

Work

Record sale prices

References

Further reading