Dr. Gagnon
François-Marc Gagnon, Director of the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art
A dynamic and inspiring teacher, he taught at the Université de Montréal for thirty-five years where he developed many research programs. Dr. Gagnon is a prolific researcher and has received the Governor General's Award for his 1978 critical biography of Paul-Émile Borduas. Since 1996, he has published more than fifteen important books and catalogues, including the award-winning Chronique du mouvement automatiste québécoise 1941-1954 (1998). He also wrote many essays on artists such as Marcel Barbeau, Jacques Hurtubise, Jean-Paul Riopelle and, more recently, Cornelius Krieghoff for the touring exhibition Krieghoff's Canada, organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Dr. Gagnon has long worked in close collaboration with many cultural institutions and associations devoted to the study of Canadian art. He was a member of the acquisition committee of the Musée d'art contemporain and of the National Gallery of Canada. Known for his deep knowledge of Canadian history and art and for his exceptional ability to popularize complex subjects, he presented a series of video conferences titled Introduction à la peinture moderne au Québec at Canal Savoir in 1998. Convinced of the importance of educating the public through various media, Dr. Gagnon provides invaluable support to the Institute in its mission to advance the greater appreciation and understanding of Canadian visual culture of all eras.
The Project
The catalogue raisonné, in hard copy edition, contains several major flaws that make the context of its publication quite problematic. Firstly, these types of books are, for the most part, very expensive and thus their publication becomes prohibitive. Secondly, because of the enormous amount of work and time involved, any such catalogue encounters, upon its publication, a major obstacle—especially for a living or recently deceased artist: due to the artwork changing hands (for example, at auctions), the data rapidly becomes outdated and the catalogue soon obsolete. Finally, another frequent complaint against these publications is the presence of multiple cross-references at each entry. While understandable given the space constraints imposed by editors, the abbreviations and codified signs force readers to constantly refer back to indexes or lists. These cross-references make consultation of such books cumbersome.
Consequently, the project conceived by Dr. François-Marc Gagnon strives to avoid these obstacles. For this reason, Dr. Gagnon opted to publish a catalogue raisonné of Borduas’ oeuvre in an electronic format, available on the Internet.
The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute
The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art was established in 1998 through the generous financial support of Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky. The Institute seeks to advance the greater appreciation and richer understanding of Canadian visual culture of all eras. To accomplish this goal, the Institute:
- Supports research on Canadian art for the professional scholarly community, for pedagogical purposes at all levels of education, and most importantly for the general public.
- Produces scholarly materials in print and electronic formats such as monographs, journals, bibliographies, catalogue raisonnés, films and videos.
- Maintains a broad and ongoing dialogue within the academic and museum communities on the evolving nature of studies in the visual arts in Canada.
- Collaborates on projects and publications with educational and cultural institutions, as well as the private sector.
- Establishes links to national and international art communities through public events such as conferences and lectures.
