Claire Fauteux (23 September 1890 – 8 July 1988) was a Canadian painter. Fauteux specialized in portrait and landscape paintings, occasionally creating murals. During World War II, she was interned in France by the Germans during the occupation. While imprisoned, she created a series of illustrations which would be published in her book, ''Fantastic Voyage.''

Life and work

Marie Claire Fauteux was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

in September 1890. She studied at the

Art Association of Montreal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) 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 ...

before proceeding to go to Europe, where she continued her studies at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the numbe ...

in Paris. She focused on portrait and landscape painting. She returned to Montreal, where she had her first exhibition in 1912 at the Art Association of Montreal. She would maintain a long lasting relationship with the now defunct Art Association, exhibiting her work at the facility through 1947. In 1916, Fauteux's work was exhibited for the first time 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 Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor Genera ...

. She exhibited at the Royal Academy three more times in her life. She participated in a group exhibition in 1916–17 at the

Saint-Sulpice Library The Saint-Sulpice Library is an historic building located at 1700 Saint Denis Street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designated a Historic Monument of Quebec in 1988. At the dawn of the 20th century, the political elite and religious leaders ...

in Montreal. The exhibit also included works by fellow women artists

Rita Mount Rita Mount (7 February 1885 Montreal – 22 January 1967 in Montreal) was a Canadian painter. Biography Rita Mount was born in Montreal in 1885. Her cousin was son of Mélaine Delfausse and Josephine Mount, 16 years older than her. He sta ...

and B. Lemoine. During this time, she taught art at two private schools, the

Trafalgar School for Girls Trafalgar School for Girls (abbreviated as Traf) is an all-girls independent school located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec. The school serves students at Secondary I – V levels, i.e. ages 11–12 to 16–17. The total enrollment is 200, the stude ...

in Montreal and the Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur, in upstate New York.

World War II imprisonment and ''Fantastic Interlude''

Fauteux received a grant from the

Women's Art Association of Canada The Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC) is an organization founded in 1887 to promote and support women artists and craftswomen in Canada, including artists in the visual media, performance artists and writers. At one time it had almost 1,000 ...

and traveled to France in 1921. While in France, she studied privately with

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

for two years. In 1927, she visited

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. When the Germans occupied France during World War II, Fauteux was imprisoned because she was British-Canadian. Upon arrest, she was held at

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerla ...

. Eventually, she was moved to

Vittel Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand. History In 1854, after visiting the baths at nearby ...

. While being held prisoner, she illustrated the day-to-day experiences of herself and her fellow prisoners. After seven months, she was released. She created paintings out of the illustrations she had made and published a book, ''Fantastic Interlude'', about her internment experience.

Return to Canada

She returned to Canada in 1947 and exhibited at Montreal's Galerie L'Art français. She became a professor, teaching painting, 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, Savo ...

Later life

Fauteux died in July 1988 in Montreal. She was entombed at the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run ...

in Montreal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fauteux, Claire 1890 births 1988 deaths Painters from Montreal Canadian women painters Canadian illustrators Académie Julian alumni Canadian portrait painters Canadian landscape painters People interned during World War II Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Prisoners and detainees of Germany