Charles Huot was born in Quebec City in 1855. Following studies in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and the École normale Laval in Quebec City, he obtained a scholarship for five years at the École des beaux-arts in Paris, and studied under Lefevre Niedermeyer and Alexandre Cabanal. He left at age 23 to travel around Europe and worked for a period of time in France as an illustrator.
Huot took part in the Salon de Paris in 1877 and earned an honourable mention. In 1886, he won a silver medal at the Blanc et Noir exhibition in Paris. He spent a total of 14 years in Europe. After returning to Canada in 1886, he settled in Quebec City where he produced many religious and historical paintings including his well-known canvases for the Quebec provincial government “Le premier parlement canadien” which hangs over the Speaker’s chart in the Legislative Assembly, and his “L’Ouverture du Conseil Souverain” for the Legislative Council. Both paintings are very large and show his fine craftsmanship and depth of knowledge of his subjects through considerable research. He also did a number of landscapes and portraits.
In 1903, Charles Huot returned to Europe with his family. After his wife died, in 1907, he returned to Quebec. His work then took a definite focus on painting history, with the work of the Palais législatif that would occupy him until his death, in Quebec City, in 1930.
Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume II”, compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1979
