Joseph Légaré
(1795 - 1855)

Born in Quebec City, he is considered Canada's first landscape painter. He was interested in painting as a youth and began in his early twenties to copy paintings in churches and religious institutions around Quebec City. Most of his first works were copies and he did as well, considerable restoration of paintings sent to Canada by Abbé Desjardins around the time of the French revolution when many great works were wantonly destroyed. The Desjardins collection at Quebec was auctioned in 1817 when much of it was purchased by Légaré.

Légaré also produced a number of pictures on Indigenous life including several tragic scenes of scalpings. It was in 1828 that one of his Indigenous studies "Le Désespoir d'Une Indienne" was awarded a medal by the Montreal Society for the Encouragement of Science and Art. Légaré did a variety of subjects even processional banners, and in 1832 decorations for the Theatre Royal in Quebec City.

Working with him from 1819 to 1825 was an apprentice by the name of Antoine Plamondon who became one of Quebec's great painters. Légaré recorded historical events which won him the reputation of being Canada's first historical painter as in his painting of the great landslide at Cape Diamond in 1848 which crushed many dwellings at the foot of the cliff ("Éboulis du Cap-aux-Diamants" collection, Quebec Seminary); or the cholera plague at Quebec, a result of an epidemic from India around 1826 which spread to Europe and through European immigrants hit Quebec City after 1832 ("The Cholera Plague at Quebec", Nat. Gal. Can. collection) and other events.

Some of his paintings like "The Falls at Saint-Ferréol" or "The Artist's House At Gentilly, P.Q." have a decided primitive look to them although others like "Les Ruines après l'incendie du Faubourg Saint-Roch"10 or "Éboulis du Cap-aux-Diamants, show the artist's fine handling of perspective and dramatic presentation.

As a young man Légaré was quite involved in politics, was a strong supporter of Louis Joseph Papineau, was arrested during the rebellion of 1837 but fortunately released five days later on the guarantee of good behaviour by his father. Much later in life he was esteemed to the degree that he was appointed to the Quebec Legislature as Councillor in 1855 a few months before his death. The painting of his home at Gentilly was loaned by his great grand-daughter Madame Pierre Duhamel of Deschambault, P.Q., when it was exhibited for the first time at the Albany Institute of History and Art in 1946.

Légaré's large collection of paintings was exhibited publicly in 1838 and 1852 and was finally acquired by Laval University after his death.12 He is also represented in the collections of the Museum of the Province of Quebec, and many churches. He did hundreds of religious paintings for religious institutions based on French originals.

Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977