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Valentin Gallery is an art gallery in Quebec. Created in 1934, it was first called "L'Art français" and had its start on Laurier Street in Montreal. Owners Lucienne (1900-1992) and Louis (1890-1956) Lange initially showed works by French artists. By the 1940s they were offering art by Marc-Aurèle Fortin and Philip Surrey. In 1975, Jean-Pierre Valentin purchased the gallery. The gallery moved to its present Sherbrooke Street location later and changed the name to Valentin Gallery.

Galerie L'Art français

In the beginning, L'Art français was a shop selling frames and reproductions of French paintings. The owners were Louis and Lucienne Lange, who came to Canada in 1930. Louis was from Belgium and Lucienne from France. They were ready to go back to Europe when they decided to open the framing gallery on Laurier Avenue, incorporating print sales for better access to the public. Through the framing activity, they started meeting artists who came there to have their paintings framed. In 1936, the first show by Quebec artist Fleurimont Constantineau was the starting point in a non-stop series of exhibitions. Mr. Lange then decided to travel to Europe, especially to France and Belgium, in order to buy paintings. The gallery also exhibited young Canadian painters. While it opened with a stock entirely from France, World War II interrupted importations so it went Canadian. In 1943 and 1944 two solo exhibitions of Henri Masson and the first solo of René Richard were held. Sculptures by Jordi Bonet were also exhibited. In the 1950s, painters such as John Little were regularly exhibited. Canadian painters were now the main feature of exhibitions at L'Art français. The Lange also sold the paintings of painters such as Adrien Hébert, Suzor-Côté, Alfred Laliberté, Clarence Gagnon, Horatio Walker, Cornelius Krieghoff, Coburn, Lyman, Jackson, and also abstract surrealist works by Riopelle, Pellan, Borduas, and Jean Dallaire. In 1956, Mr. Lange died and his wife decided to carry on. She exhibited Miyuki Tanobe. During these years, Stanley Cosgrove, Ozias Leduc, Paul Soulikias and Goodridge Roberts exhibited their works here. The gallery exhibited also Henri Masson, Berthe des Clayes, Edmund Alleyn, Ghitta Caiserman, P.V Beaulieu, Lismer, Borenstein, Pilot, Emily Carr, Brymner, Cullen, Franchère, Adrien Hébert, Massicotte, Plamondon, John Young Johnstone, Bourassa, Laliberté and Henri Julien.

Valentin Gallery

Since the early 1970s, the gallery exhibits Miyuki Tanobe, young Canadian painters and more "classical" painters such as Marc-Aurèle Fortin. The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec had access to the Fortin's research resources for an exhibition about the artist. The gallery also helps tracking down works in private collections for exhibitions in museums. Instead of focusing on French art, the gallery forged ahead by choosing to display Québécois and Canadian artists like Lemieux, Riopelle, Suzor-Coté. Retrospective exhibitions were held with artists such as Philip Surrey, Molinari, Dallaire, Borduas, Lyman. The gallery also exhibits young sculptors and painters such as Christian Deberdt, Geneviève Jost, Élène Gamache et Pearl Levy, Jeannette Perreault, Maja Vodanovic, Henry Wanton Jones, Stanislav Germanov, Thérèse Lacasse, Guylaine Beauchemin. At each anniversary the gallery presents a selection of Canada classics.

Jean-Pierre Valentin

Born in France in 1949, he is a master in International Trade after studies in a Paris commerce school. He was a Paris-based art dealer who travelled the world selling works of art. In 1977, he occupied a position on the Board of Trustees of the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada. In 1981, he became the youngest president and was re-elected in 1983. He has given conferences on how to build an art collection and on how to invest in art, on the importance of a good appraisal and on the works of Marc-Aurèle Fortin. He is working on a catalogue raisonné of this artist.

References

1. "Firefighters rescue Riopelle, Pilot paintings from burning Montreal gallery". The Globe and Mail. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
2. ^ Bernard Mendelman, "Two Montreal galleries celebrate milestones", The Suburban, 19 October 1994, A-26
3. ^ Lolly Golt, "Dealing in the Fine" in Montreal Living, p. 37
4. "Montreal Centre Ville".
5. ^ "L'Art Français in Montreal", Gallery Profile, in Le Collectionneur, Vol.1, n°2, 1978
6. "Richard Landscape Painter". Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française.
7. "Erudit revues culturelles".
8. Virginia Nixon, Fingers, Art in The Gazette, Spring 1972, p. 48
9. ^ "Gallery Jean-Pierre Valentin" in Parcours, Vol.2, n°2, March 1996-March 1997
10. "Erudit revues culturelles".
11. Erudit index p.52
12. Erudit index p. 56
13. Erudit Index p.40
14. Erudit Index p. 57
15. Erudit Index p. 73
16. Michèle Grandbois, "Remerciements" dans Esther Trépanier, Marc-Aurèle Fortin-L'expérence de la couleur, Les Éditions de l'homme, 2011
17. Michèle Grandbois, "Acknowledgment" in Morrice and Lyman in the company of Matisse, Firefly books, 2014, p.15
18. "Montreal on Canvas at Galerie Jean-Pierre Valentin | Vie des Arts". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
19. "Molinari by Numérique Archambault Nu/Ar Inc - Issuu". issuu.com.
20. "Jean Dallaire exposition rétrospective - Retrospective exhibition Jean Dallaire by Numérique Archambault Nu/Ar Inc - Issuu". issuu.com.
21. "Paul-Émile Borduas exposition rétrospective - Retrospective exhibition Paul-Émile Borduas by Numérique Archambault Nu/Ar Inc - Issuu". issuu.com.
22. "Lyman by Numérique Archambault Nu/Ar Inc - Issuu". issuu.com.
23. Léo Rosshandler; et al. (29 March 2010). "Critiques". Vie des arts (in French). 51 (207): 97.
24. Natasha Hébert; John K. Grande (2003). "Pleins feux". Vie des arts (in French). 48 (193): 27.
25. "Here, There and in between". Vie des arts. 42 (173). 1998.
26. "Thérèse Lacasse ‹ Magazine Parcours – Art Contemporain – Culture – Société – Tourisme Culturel".
27. Aline Côté (1999). "Guylaine Beauchemin L'intimité et l'immensité". Vie des arts. 42 (174): 53.
28. "A portrait of a gallery director. Jean-Pierre Valentin. Galerie L'Art français", Magazin'Art, 2e année, n°1, Automne 1989
29. Joanne Eidinger, "The business of art. Art finds a chaperone in PADAC" in Montreal Review, September 1981, p. 26
30. "Art Dealers Association of Canada / Association des Marchands d'Art du Canada". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
31. Art. The new world of investment, Merrit fine art seminars, Saturday, 14 November 1981, Montreal
32. Canadian Cultural Programmes L.A.E. Inc., Division: History of Canadian Art, Monday 20 April, Montreal
33. Montreal print collectors society. Newsletter, Vol. 15, n°5, February 1999

External links

• Valentin Gallery

• Art museums and galleries in Quebec
• History of Montreal
• 1934 establishments in Quebec
• Art museums and galleries established in 1934