Pauline Boutal C.M. (September 8, 1894 – April 30, 1992) was a French-born Canadian artist, theatrical designer, actress and educator.

Early life

The daughter of Jean-François Le Goff, a stained glass artist, and Louise Cabon, she was born Pauline Le Goff in Lanhouarneau in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. Her grandfather, François Cabon, was also a stained glass artist. She came to

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

with her family in October 1907, first living in St. Laurent and then moving to Saint Boniface in spring 1909. In September 1909, she began working for the Franco-Manitoban newspaper ''Le Nouvelliste'' as a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random ...

. There, she also met her future husband Arthur Boutal. In 1911, she began studying art at the Winnipeg Art Club. Arthur Boutal went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to serve in its defence at the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914; in 1916, she joined him there and they were married.

Career

On her return from France in 1917, Boutal joined the commercial art firm Brigdens of Winnipeg, where she mainly worked on illustrations for the Eaton's catalogue. She continued her studies in art at the Winnipeg School of Art (now the School of Art at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.LeMoine FitzGerald Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald D.F.A., also known as L. L. FitzGerald (March 17, 1890 – August 5, 1956) was a Canadian artist and art educator. He was the only member of the Group of Seven based in western Canada. He worked almost exclusively in Manit ...

and Frank Johnston. She also later took lessons with George Elmer Browne and

Henry Hensche Henry Hensche (February 25, 1899 – December 10, 1992) was an American painter and teacher. Early years Born Heinrich Hensche, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Henry came to the United States by way of Antwerp, Belgium. He is listed on the sh ...

in the United States, with André Lhote in Paris and with Charles Picart Le Doux at the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acad� ...

. In 1925, Boutal and her husband became involved with the Winnipeg theatre company

Le Cercle Molière Le Cercle Molière is a theatre company in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History The theatre company has operated since 1925. Its activities include a four-play subscription season, a youth production that tours Manitoba schools, a high school th ...

. Her husband was company director and she became an actress in the company. After his death in 1941, she succeeded her husband as director. She contributed to set and costume design for the theatre company, as well as for the Winnipeg Little Theatre and the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

. As an actress, she was named Best Actor three times at the

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

and, in 1938, received the Lady Tweedsmuir prize for best individual performance by a woman. She was also named Best Director twice at the Dominion Drama Festival. Also in 1941, Boutal ended her career in commercial art to concentrate on painting landscapes and portraits. From 1932 to 1975, she exhibited with the Manitoba Society of Artists; she was also included in group shows at the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

and had four solo exhibitions at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain.

Collections

Her work is included in the collection of the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

Honours

Boutal was named an Officier in the French

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

in 1939. In 1950, she received the Canadian Drama Award. She received a Manitoba Golden Boy Award in 1963, the first francophone to receive that honour. She was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 1973 for her contributions to the development and growth of French theatre in Manitoba. In 1975, the Centre culturel franco-manitobain renamed its theatre Salle Pauline Boutal in her honour. She received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Ordre des francophones d'Amérique in 1981.

Later life and death

Later in life, she gave private art classes in her studio at home and also taught art to children at a local school on Saturday mornings. Boutal died in Saint Boniface at the age of 97.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boutal, Pauline 1894 births 1992 deaths Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Canadian painters Canadian illustrators Canadian women painters Canadian women illustrators Canadian theatre directors Canadian women theatre directors Canadian stage actresses Members of the Order of Canada Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques University of Manitoba alumni French emigrants to Canada