Armand Vaillancourt
Armand Vaillancourt
1929 -
AANFM AAP ASQ
Armand Vaillancourt established himself as a fixture of the Quebec arts scene with his political and gestural large-scale public sculptures, paintings and performance art pieces which defy simple classification. Constantly exploring different mediums and modes of expression, Vaillancourt communicates various ideas through his work, denouncing racism, violence and injustice while embodying Quebec’s culture of populist resistance.

Born in Black Lake, Quebec in 1929, the 16th of 17 children, Vaillancourt grew up on a 300 acre farm with no electricity or indoor plumbing. He moved to Montreal in 1951 to train as an artist at the École des beaux-arts. During this time he created his first major public work The Tree of Durocher Street, for which he carved and shaped the tree outdoors before crowds of onlookers. Influenced by the Automatists and their exploration of spontaneous form, Vaillaincourt became celebrated at home and abroad for his abstract sculptures balancing artistic intention and the nature of materials. His formalist bois brûlé carvings used fire and oil to paint and model the surface of the sculpture according to the various densities of the wood. He also invented a method of casting bronze sculptures using sand-packed plastic and Styrofoam molds shaped by flame, resulting in abstract improvisations that mimicked the textures and shapes of volcanic rock formations.

Believing the artist must speak for the social conscience, Vaillancourt has staged performances and used his art and the media to vocalize his commitment to social change. In 1967 he was invited to the International Sculpture Symposium in Toronto to build a 340-ton cast iron piece. When he defiantly titled the work Je me souviens, the organizers abandoned the project, causing a stir in the national media. His best known work is the monumental Vaillancourt Fountain, also known as Québec libre! which was constructed between 1969 and 1971 and sits at the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. The night before its inauguration Vaillancourt inscribed “Québec libre!” in bright red ink, voicing his support for the Quebec sovereignty movement and the freedom of all people. The next day, seeing that the inscription had been removed, Vaillancourt jumped back on the sculpture in the middle of the dedication ceremony to reinscribe the words.

Vaillancourt received the Paul-Émile Borduas award in 1993 and in 2004 was made a Chevalier de L'Ordre national du Québec. During the 1994 Quebec election he ran for the NDP in the Westmount-Saint-Louis riding, becoming the first artist to do so in the province. In 2008 he was given a retrospective at the Musée des beaux-arts de Mont-Saint-Hilaire. His work is represented in the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
HOW TO SELL
AVAILABLE WORKS
HEFFEL’S TOP RESULTS
Sans titre by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $49,250
Armand Vaillancourt
Sans titre
36 x 48 in, 91.4 x 121.9 cm
acrylic on canvas
Estimate: $12,000 - $16,000 CDN
Sold for: $49,250 CDN (premium included)
Armand Vaillancourt | Selected Works from the Collection of the Artist on Thursday, March 31, 2022
Sans titre by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $37,250
Armand Vaillancourt
Sans titre
30 x 30 in, 76.2 x 76.2 cm
acrylic on canvas
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $37,250 CDN (premium included)
Armand Vaillancourt | Selected Works from the Collection of the Artist on Thursday, March 31, 2022
Bois Totem by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $22,500
Armand Vaillancourt
Bois Totem
48 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in, 122.6 x 14 x 14 cm
circa 1958
wood sculpture
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $22,500 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Works from the Family of Paul-Vanier Beaulieu on Saturday, November 26, 2022
Suzanne by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $18,750
Armand Vaillancourt
Suzanne
59 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in, 149.9 x 11.4 x 8.9 cm
circa 1962
burnt wood sculpture
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $18,750 CDN (premium included)
Contemporary Prints & Sculptures on Thursday, March 31, 2022
Sans titre by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $16,250
Armand Vaillancourt
Sans titre
8 5/8 x 49 x 11 in, 21.9 x 124.5 x 27.9 cm
circa 1959
metal sculpture
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000 CDN
Sold for: $16,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Works from the Family of Paul-Vanier Beaulieu on Saturday, November 26, 2022
La nuit by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $15,000
Armand Vaillancourt
La nuit
17 x 17 x 3 1/4 in, 43.2 x 43.2 x 8.3 cm
bronze sculpture with green patina
Estimate: $5,000 - $7,000 CDN
Sold for: $15,000 CDN (premium included)
Quebec Abstraction on Thursday, September 24, 2020
Sans titre by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $12,870
Armand Vaillancourt
Sans titre
14 3/4 x 21 x 10 1/2 in, 37.5 x 53.3 x 26.7 cm
bronze sculpture on a wood base
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN
Sold for: $12,870 CDN (premium included)
March 2012 - 4th Session on Thursday, March 29, 2012
Untitled by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $12,870
Armand Vaillancourt
Untitled
88 x 11 1/2 x 2 in, 223.5 x 29.2 x 5.1 cm
burnt wood sculpture
Estimate: $5,000 - $7,000 CDN
Sold for: $12,870 CDN (premium included)
September 2011 - 2nd Session on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Le Sacre du printemps by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $10,000
Armand Vaillancourt
Le Sacre du printemps
36 x 24 in, 91.4 x 61 cm
acrylic on canvas
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $10,000 CDN (premium included)
Art Now on Thursday, September 29, 2022
Sans titre by Armand Vaillancourt sold for $9,945
Armand Vaillancourt
Sans titre
12 1/4 x 17 x 8 3/4 in, 31.1 x 43.2 x 22.2 cm
bronze sculpture on a wood base
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN
Sold for: $9,945 CDN (premium included)
March 2013 - 4th Session on Thursday, March 28, 2013