Arthur Villeneuve (1910-1990)

Naif Farm Scene – 1960

Oil on canvas by the Quebec naïve painter Arthur Villeneuve entitled "Tableau mécanique avec grange" on a label on the reverse, signed and dated 1960 in the lower right corner. In excellent condition, this work was exhibited at the 1972 retrospective exhibition held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with number E-73, as appears on a label on the reverse. It is also listed in the exhibition catalogue "Les chroniques du Québec d'Arthur Villeneuve (1972) with the number 69.

Arthur Villeneuve was a Canadian painter and member of the Order of Canada, born January 4 1910 in Chicoutimi (Quebec) and died May 24 1990 in Montreal (Quebec).

Raised in a working-class family in Chicoutimi, he was a barber before becoming a painter. He claimed to have received the mystical call for painting in 1957 during the homily at Sunday mass. He first begins a large oil fresco on the interior walls of his house, which he continued on the exterior walls. He completed his masterful work in 1959 and consequently decided to open his house to the public.

His naive and primitive art in modern Quebec of the 1960s clashed with some, but others saw his art as a great heritage potential. Moreover, the artist tells the regional past in his works. The enthusiasm generated by Arthur Villeneuve will lead the National Film Board of Canada to make a short film on his life. He exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec and the Vancouver Art Gallery in the 1970s. He received the Order of Canada in 1973.

Four years after his death in 1990, the house was listed as a heritage site and moved to the Pulperie de Chicoutimi to become a museum and exhibition space. In 2016, the Maison Arthur-Villeneuve acquired the collection of Jean-Louis Gagnon, which included 200 works by the artist, the most significant acquisition since the purchase of the artist's house.

His work is included in many public collections such as the National Gallery of Canada and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec.

Sources: Wikipedia.

Artist: Arthur Villeneuve (1910-1990).
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions: 51 x 71 cm. / 20 x 28 in.
Frame: 63 x 83 cm / 24 ¾ x 32 ¾ in. Wood, very good condition.
Origin: Canada.