Rodolphe Duguay

1891-1973


Rodolphe Duguay was born in Nicolet, Quebec. He studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet during four years before moving to Montreal where he completed his studies and started working at various jobs. In 1911, he enrolled as an art student at the Council of Arts and Manufacturers. There, over the course of nine years, he studied under Charles Gill, Joseph St-Charles, Jobson Paradis, Joseph Franchère, Elzéar Soucy and Alfred Laliberté. During this period, he also worked briefly under William Brymner (1915-1916) at the Art Association of Montreal while also taking private lessons with George Delfosse (1912-1917) and Maurice Cullen (1917). During his last years studying art, Duguay won first prize on several occasions. In 1918, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté accepted Duguay as his first and only student, and regarded him as a protégé. It was Suzor-Coté who made it possible for Duguay to study in Paris. After exhibiting for a first and only time at the Spring Exhibition in 1920, Duguay boarded a boat with Canadian Painter Narcisse Poirier and left for France.

In Paris, Duguay studied at various art schools. He studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts (1920) where he met Canadian painter Robert Pilot, at Académie Julian under Jean Paul Laurens (1920-1924), at Académie de la Grande Chaumière (1921-1924), at the Académie Colarossi under Henri Morisset (1921-1927) and at Académie Adler (1924-1925). He mainly studied painting but was also introduced to engravings, medium that he would work with often during his career. In 1924, Duguay became the first painter to obtain a Bursary from the Quebec government. While he was in Europe, he travelled across France but also visited many parts of Italy in 1925. He maintained good relations with other Canadian artists in Europe, among which Elzéar Soucy, Alfred Laliberté and Clarence Gagnon, who later visited Duguay in Nicolet in 1939.

In 1927, Duguay came back to Canada and spent a few of months in Montreal, where he visited Suzor-Coté who had just suffered a paralysing stroke. He then went back to Nicolet where he built his studio. The following year, he painted many works for the decoration of a church in Sorel, which quickly deteriorated due to his use of poor materials. In 1929, Duguay had his first one-man show at the Bibliothèque St-Sulpice in Montreal; he married Jeanne L’Archevêque that same year. In 1930, he held a second one-man show at the Séminaire de Trois-Rivières where every work was sold. Present at the show was Athanase David, Secretary of the province, who bought two works from Duguay for the future art museum in Quebec. The Museum bought two other paintings in 1938.

In 1935, Duguay worked on many engravings that he later published in two albums featuring over forty of them. The albums obtained great success and an exhibition was later held in Trois-Rivières featuring one-hundred and two works of various medium. From 1936 to 1940, he produced another series of engravings that were used as greeting cards. Over the years, many of his engravings were use to illustrate books, notably for his wife’s poetry books. In 1937, he visited Île d’Orléans where he spent a few days with Horatio Walker, followed shortly after by a visit to Ozias Leduc in St-Hilaire. A few years later, it was Ozias Leduc who, while working on decoration of a church in Shawinigan, took the opportunity to visit Duguay in Nicolet.

In 1940, Galerie Morency in Montreal held a show on Duguay’s work. This was an important stage in Duguay’s career since art critics and collectors started talking more about the artist and his work. That same gallery held two more shows in 1941 and 1942 but unfortunately, with Second World War not being very favourable for artists, Duguay and his family struggled to make ends meet during the rest of the forties. In 1951, Duguay started work on fifteen large canvases for the St-Simon church of Drummondville. He worked on that project until 1955, but again, the works did not resist to the high levels of humidity and were lost.

In the years leading to his death, a show at the Centre des Arts de Trois-Rivières on Duguay’s work obtained great success. This show was said to have “Stirred up the public’s indifference” towards Duguay and his work. It was Duguay’s consecration but he was already 73 years old. In 1967, a retrospective was held at Galerie des Peintres Canadiens of the Place des Arts in Montreal and later, in 1970, another retrospective was held at Centre Culturel de Trois-Rivières. In 1971, Alzheimer started affecting Duguay’s life more and more. In 1973, he was decorated by the Order of Canada and soon after, he died in Nicolet at the age of 82.

Following his death, a travelling show on his engravings was organised by the National Gallery of Canada (1975) and in 1979, the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec held a retrospective show. In 1981, the Musée d’Art de Joliette also held a retrospective on his engravings featuring over one hundred works.

Collections:

- National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Quebec City, QC)
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, QC)
- Musée d’Art de Joliette (Joliette, QC)
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, QC)
- Musée de la Civilisation (Quebec City, QC)
- Musée Pierre Boucher (Trois-Rivières, QC)
- Musée de Charlevoix (La Malbaie, QC)
- Musée Régional de Kamouraska (Kamouraska, QC)
- Musée Laurier (Victoriaville, QC)
- Musée des Religions (Nicolet, QC)
- Musée Louis-Hémon (Péribonka, QC)
- Musée des Ursulines de Trois-Rivières (Trois-Rivières, QC)
- Musée Québécois de Culture Populaire (Trois-Rivières, QC)
- Musée des Maîtres et Artisants du Québec (St. Laurent, QC)
- Musée Historique des Soeurs de l'Assomption (Nicolet, QC)
- Musée des Hospitalières de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (Montreal, QC)
- Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, ON)
- Musée du Château Ramezay (Montreal, QC)
- Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal (Montreal, QC)
- Les Petites Franciscaines de Marie (Baie St. Paul, QC)
- Musée Marguerite-Bourgeoys (Montreal, QC)
- La Pulperie de Chicoutimi (Chicoutimi, QC)
- Power Corporation of Canada (Montreal, QC)
- National Bank of Canada (Montreal, QC)