Christmas came early at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ). On Monday, general director Jean-Luc Murray and his team proceeded to unload works that will be exhibited at the future Espace Riopelle, which should welcome its first visitors in the fall of 2026.
Posted at 9:36 a.m.
Valérie Marcoux
The Sun
PHOTO JOCELYN RIENDEAU, THE SUN
The gifts unwrapped by the MNBAQ team are donations from philanthropist and collector Michael Audain. Among these, we find Geese in the city (1983-1984), a painting where abstraction and figuration coexist and which until recently hung in the donor’s bedroom.
PHOTO JOCELYN RIENDEAU, THE SUN
It took several months to organize the transport of these high-value pieces arriving from different Canadian cities, including Vancouver and Toronto. Custom boxes were made especially for the occasion. Some traveled by plane and others by truck.
PHOTO JOCELYN RIENDEAU, THE SUN
The works were unpacked under the watchful eye of restorer Aimie Turcotte, who inspected every millimeter of the paintings to ensure that nothing had moved or been damaged during transport.
PHOTO JOCELYN RIENDEAU, THE SUN
In addition to Geese over the citymore than twenty works by Riopelle belonging to Mr. Audain will soon be at the MNBAQ. “There are some who will arrive later, among other things because Mr. Audain has works in the exhibition Riopelle at the crossroads of timess, who is currently traveling in Canada,” underlines Jean-Luc Murray.
Art
