22 Facts About Alfred Pellan

Alfred Pellan was born on 16 May 1906 in the Saint-Roch quarter of Quebec City.

In school, Pellan filled the margins of his notebooks with drawings and excelled at his art classes, with little interest in other subjects.

In 1920 Alfred Pellan enrolled at the School of Fine Arts of Quebec.

Alfred Pellan won first prizes in advanced courses and earned medals in painting, drawing, sculpture, sketching, anatomy and advertising.

Alfred Pellan sold his first painting at the age of 17 to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

In 1926 Alfred Pellan received the first fine arts scholarship in Quebec, which allowed him to spend several years in Paris and visit Venice.

Besides his mandatory classes, Alfred Pellan sat in on sessions at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the Academie Colarossi, where he met painter Lucien Simon.

Alfred Pellan won first prize at the exhibition of mural art in 1935 in Paris and rubbed elbows with the most famous artists of the time.

In 1936, at the urging of his father, Alfred Pellan applied for a professorship at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Quebec City.

In June 1940, Alfred Pellan exhibited more than 161 works at the Musee de la Province in Quebec City and at the Art Association of Montreal.

However, these works were not commercially successful and Alfred Pellan struggled to find consistent buyers in the Canadian market.

Alfred Pellan committed himself to an independent art, more open to universality and evolution.

Alfred Pellan remained actively engaged with the Surrealist movement, continuing to explore its stylistic techniques and visual motifs throughout his career.

Whereas Borduas advocated for moving beyond public opinion, Alfred Pellan aimed to make modern art accessible to collectors and general audiences.

In 1952, Alfred Pellan received a scholarship from the Royal Society of Canada, which enabled a return to Paris.

Alfred Pellan remained in Paris with his wife Madeleine, whom he had married in 1949, until 1955.

Alfred Pellan was the first Canadian to be given a solo exhibition in Paris in the museum.

Alfred Pellan's reputation continued to grow among Canadian art experts, he became more widely known through solo and group exhibitions, and he received commissions for murals, which helped establish his fame throughout the country.

In 1978, Alfred Pellan was diagnosed with leukemia and produced only five works during his last ten years with the aid of his assistant Michel Vermeulen.

Alfred Pellan died in Montreal on 31 October 1988, aged 82 and was interred in the Parc du Souvenir in Auteuil.

Alfred Pellan received a number of awards and honours, notably Companion of the Order of Canada.

Alfred Pellan was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.