Less than ten days before Christmas, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec unwrapped gifts of inestimable value on Monday morning: remarkable paintings by Jean Paul Riopelle, rarely or never seen here, and which are intended for the new pavilion which will be dedicated from 2026 to the great Quebec painter.
Three major works by Riopelle, “national treasures,” said the director of the MNBAQ, Jean-Luc Murray, were extracted from the heavy wooden boxes in which they traveled from Vancouver to Quebec.
Curator Özlem Gülin Dağoğlu presents “Indian Summer”, one of Riopelle’s works now owned by the MNBAQ.
Photo Cédric Bélanger
To date, 38 of the 66 paintings by Riopelle offered to the MNBAQ for the construction of Espace Riopelle, by businessmen/collectors Michael Audain and Pierre Lassonde, from Vancouver and Toronto, have arrived in Quebec.
The total donation is worth $120 million. The value of each work is estimated between a few hundred thousand dollars to almost 10 million.
“We had the largest Riopelle collection with 447 works, but we were missing some in certain periods, notably in his classic period of the 1950s. (…) Now it’s like going to see the Picasso Museum, in Spain, where you have all the ultimate Picasso treasures. We will be in the same position for Riopelle. It’s super exciting,” rejoices Jean-Luc Murray.
Emotions
At the sight of the amazing Geese in the citya painting measuring 160 x 240 centimeters, we heard murmurs of admiration among representatives of the Quebec media. Curator Özlem Gülin Dağoğlu, who saw him in person for the first time, was moved.
“I can almost hear the wings of the geese beating. It’s wonderful,” she said while examining the work dated 1983-1984.
Untitledan impressive triptych created in 1954, as well as Indian Summeran oil on canvas from 1957, were also shown to journalists, as were works on paper from his automatist period, from the 1940s.
This triptych dating from the 1950s could also find a place in the new Espace Riopelle.
Photo Cédric Bélanger
“Everything we have unpacked demonstrates to what extent Riopelle is a prodigy artist, an exceptional artist,” exclaims Mme Dağoğlu.
Other patrons come forward
Repatriating such treasures to Quebec at great expense required months of planning. Each painting was transported in custom-made wooden crates. They were unpacked with great care and then inspected by specialists, on departure and arrival, in order to detect the slightest imperfection.
The museum’s conservator, Aimie Turcotte, looks closely to see if the painting was damaged during transport from Vancouver to Quebec.
Photo Cédric Bélanger
It’s not over. In addition to the initial donation from MM. Audain and Lassonde, the MNBAQ has received offers from other patrons since the announcement of Espace Riopelle, says Mr. Murray.
“Riopelle was friends with one of the greatest contemporary Chinese artists, Zao Wou-Ki. His wife gave us a work that Riopelle had given the couple as a wedding gift. That’s the kind of momentum a project like this creates. We intend to take advantage of it.”
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