Swiss-born Canadian artist, René-Jean Richard was born in December of 1895, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. His family emigrated to Quebec City in 1909 and later, to Cold Lake, Alberta to work the land. Farming conditions became brutally demanding, and Richard’s family eventually decided to open a general store instead. Richard was quickly attracted by the nomadic lifestyle of the First Nations people. From 1913 to 1926, he traveled around northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories by canoe and snowshoe. In 1926, Richard began to study drawing and painting in Edmonton, pulling inspiration from his time spent with various indigenous communities.
From 1927 to 1930, he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi in France. In 1938, he accepted the invitation of his friend Clarence Gagnon to join him in Montreal. During the same year, Richard met the Cimon family, who welcomed him to their summer home to paint and help the family with various tasks. In 1942, he permanently settled in the Cimon estate and began the most important period of his artistic career.
Richard held his first exhibition at La Galerie de l’Art Francaise in Montreal, which was a great success and helped to foster his reputation as a growing artist. In 1948, Richard joined a McGill University-Canadian Museum of Nature expedition to Quebec's Ungava Peninsula. He produced large landscapes between 1950 and 1965 based on memories of his various expeditions. Richard's landscapes soon became highly valued by collectors. When Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada in 1959, she received one of Richard's paintings by the mayor of Chicoutimi.
Richard has exhibited throughout North America, namely in Quebec City and Montreal. In 1973, he received the Order of Canada and in 1980, was elected as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. His work is held by museums in Montreal, Québec and La Malbaie. The heritage site “Maison René-Richard” is today a museum open to the public.
The artist is distinguished for his sketches of lead pencil, charcoal and red pencil, many of which he produced during his long wilderness journeys. He also painted in oil. His topics included semi-abstract landscapes, prospectors and trappers. Due to budgetary restrictions, Richard would often draw on butcher’s paper cut into sheets.
René Richard died on 31 March 1982 at Baie Sant-Paul, at the age of 86. His autobiography “Ma Vie Passée” was published in 1990.
