Micheline Beauchemin, (; 24 October 1929 – 29 September 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials use ...

and weaver.

Education

Beauchemin was born in

Longueuil, Quebec Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ...

. She studied at the

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

and the

and

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière () is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the A ...

in Paris, France. In 1953, she held the first exhibit of her stained glass work in

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, France. A few years later, in 1955, she exhibited her first tapestries at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Chartres. Micheline Beauchemin returned to Canada in 1957.

Artistic career

While best known for her monumental tapestries and theatre curtains, she also worked with embroidery, stained glass, costumes and paintings. Some of Beauchemin's most famous work in Canada include the acrylic curtain that she made for the Grande Salle of the

Théâtre Maisonneuve Théâtre Maisonneuve is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and n ...

at Place des Arts in Montréal (1963-1967) and the stage curtain of the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

in Ottawa (1966-1969). She was also commissioned to create tapestries for Queen's Park in Toronto (1968-1969), the social sciences building at York University (1970), the Hudson's Bay Company in Winnipeg (1970), the Canadian pavilion at the 1970 World Fair in Osaka, the Department of Revenue in Quebec and

Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

in Toronto.

Honours

In 1973, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, the second level of Canada's highest civilian honour. In 1991, she was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

, an order of merit bestowed by the government of Quebec. In 1970, she was elected to 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 ...

. In 2006, she was awarded the

Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are annual awards for achievements in visual and media arts in Canada. Up to eight awards are presented annually, each with a prize amount of $25,000. Created in 2000 by then Governor General ...

. In 2005, she was awarded the Quebec government's

Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas The Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals who are artists or craftsman in the fields of visual arts, of the trades of art, architecture and the design. It is name ...

, given to individuals who are artists or craftsman in the fields of visual arts, of the trades of art, architecture and the design.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchemin, Micheline 1929 births 2009 deaths Knights of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada People from Longueuil Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Canadian weavers Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners 20th-century Canadian women textile artists Canadian embroiderers 20th-century Canadian textile artists Artists from Quebec