Technique: Oil, acrylic, watercolor, engraving, ink
1909-1982
Born in Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon near Quebec, Albert Rousseau is a Quebec painter of international reputation who has exhibited in Canada, the United States and Europe. He studied for 6 years at the École des beaux-arts de Québec since the age of 16. During his schooling, he won several prizes and medals. When he left school, his goal was to devote his energy to painting his country and its nature. He traveled to several regions of Quebec to paint alongside artists such as Marc-Aurèle Fortin and René Richard, with whom he developed a lasting friendship. From 1939, he attended the Salon du Printemps at the Montreal Arts Gallery and won a first prize there in 1948, the same year as Alfred Pellan.
Albert Rousseau built his workshop in Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon with his own hands and organized various events there to promote established artists and newcomers alike. Throughout his career, he seeks to perfect his art, varying textures, materials and techniques. He creates paintings, watercolors and terracottas and paints landscapes, still lifes, nudes and seascapes with inexhaustible energy. His talent for rendering light and colors has earned him recognition among experts and the general public alike. In 1960, he won first prize in the National Gallery of Canada competition on the theme "Winter Scenes" with his painting "Maison Chevalier".
From year to year, the exhibitions at his workshop in Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon, which he calls “ Country Expos ”, become more and more popular and several thousand people go there every summer. In 1970, during the seventh “ Expo champêtre ”, the works of more than 75 artists were presented.
Albert Rousseau tirelessly painted luminous works, full of joy and color, until his sudden death in 1982, at the age of 73. His latest painting illustrates the cycle of life in a very colorful way by representing a pregnant woman protected by a mysterious character and a young mother holding a baby in her arms.
Several of his works are now found in the collections of museums including the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, at the National Assembly of Quebec, in public and private collections as well as in many art galleries. During his lifetime, the artist also participated in several exhibitions in Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Chicoutimi, Montreal, Calgary, New York and Paris.