Sold for: $10,625

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Montreal

LITERATURE
Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 2007, page 83

Published in 1948, the Refus global manifesto is a historical document that signaled an important cultural shift in Quebec. In art historian Roald Nasgaard’s words, it was “a passionate attack on all the repressive social, political, historical and religious forces that had shaped the Quebecois people.” Not only was it the driving force behind the Automatist movement, it is now regarded as a milestone in the modernization of Quebec, exposing the province to the cosmopolitan ideas of the post-war era. The manifesto was written by Paul-Émile Borduas and co-signed by 15 other artists, including Marcel Barbeau, Claude Gauvreau, Marcelle Ferron, Fernand Leduc and Jean Paul Riopelle, who painted the cover art. Besides the manifesto, the publication includes two essays on language and Surrealism by Borduas, three short plays by Gauvreau, an essay on dance by Françoise Sullivan, Bruno Cormier’s text on pictorial art, a poem by Leduc and photographs by Maurice Perron. This rare book—only 400 copies were printed—quickly sold out and has been acquired by many institutions, such as Library and Archives Canada and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

This work is accompanied by a set of 7 limited edition Post Canada stamps. Each stamp showcases a work by an Automatist painter (Riopelle, Leduc, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Pierre Gauvreau, Borduas, Ferron and Barbeau). These stamps were made in 1998, to mark the 50 year anniversary of the Refus global.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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