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 Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Owners Lucienne (1900-1992) and Louis (1890-1956) Lange initially showed works by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

artists. By the 1940s they were offering art by Marc-Aurèle Fortin and

Philip Surrey Philip Surrey LL. D. (1910-1990) was a Canadian artist known for his figurative scenes of Montreal. A founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society, and Montreal Men's Press Club (now Montreal Press Club), Surrey was part of Montreal’s cult ...

.Bernard Mendelman, "Two Montreal galleries celebrate milestones",

The Suburban ''The Suburban'' is the largest English language weekly newspaper in the province of Quebec. It is a community newspaper based in Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough which publishes three geographically based editions containing some shared and s ...

, 19 October 1994, A-26 In 1975, Jean-Pierre Valentin purchased the gallery. The gallery moved to its present Sherbrooke Street location laterLolly Golt, "Dealing in the Fine" in Montreal Living, p. 37 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1930. Louis was from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and Lucienne from France. They were ready to go back to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

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 Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

painters."L'Art Français in Montreal", Gallery Profile, in ''Le Collectionneur'', Vol.1, n°2, 1978 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 René Richard (1 December 1895 – 31 March 1982) was Swiss-born Canadian painter known for his semi-abstract landscapes of the Canadian wilderness and of the country around Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec. Early years René Jeanrichard (later shortene ...

were held. Sculptures by

Jordi Bonet Jordi Bonet i Godó, known professionally as Jordi Bonet (7 May 1932 – 25 December 1979), was a Spanish-born Canadian painter, ceramist, muralist, and sculptor who worked principally in Quebec. Life and work Born in Barcelona, Spain of Cata ...

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 Clarence Alphonse Gagnon, LL. D. (November 8, 1881 – January 5, 1942) was a French Canadian painter, draughtsman, engraver and illustrator. He is known for his landscape paintings of the Laurentians and the Charlevoix region of eastern Queb ...

Horatio Walker Horatio Walker LL.D. (May 12, 1858 – September 27, 1938) was a Canadian painter. He worked in oils and watercolours, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada. He was influenced by the Barbizon school. Life and work Early life ...

Cornelius Krieghoff Cornelius David Krieghoff (June 19, 1815 – March 5, 1872) was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were as sought ...

, Coburn,

Lyman Lyman may refer to: Places Ukraine * Lyman, Ukraine United States * Lyman, Iowa * Lyman, Maine * Lyman, Mississippi * Lyman, Nebraska * Lyman, New Hampshire * Lyman, Oklahoma * Lyman, South Carolina * Lyman, South Dakota * Lyman County, South Dak ...

, Jackson, and also abstract surrealist works by

Riopelle Riopelle is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Howard Riopelle (1922–2013), Canadian ice-hockey player *Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923–2002), Canadian painter and sculptor *Jerry Riopelle Jerry Riopelle (May 5, 1941 – December 2 ...

, Pellan,

Borduas Borduas is a provincial electoral district in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It notably includes the municipality of Beloeil, Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Otterburn Park. It was crea ...

, and

Jean Dallaire Jean-Philippe Dallaire (9 June 1916 – 27 November 1965) was one of the leading artists working figuratively in the 1960s in Canada. He is known for his festive scenes peopled by macabre characters. Early years Jean-Philippe Dallaire was born in ...

. In 1956, Mr. Lange died and his wife decided to carry on. She exhibited Miyuki Tanobe. During these years, Stanley Cosgrove,

Ozias Leduc Ozias Leduc (October 8, 1864 - June 16, 1955) is one of Quebec's early painters. He was born in Saint-Hilaire-de-Rouville. Leduc produced many portraits, still lifes and landscapes, as well as religious works. Biography Leduc was mainly self-t ...

Paul Soulikias Paleologos Soulikias (13 October 1926 – 17 January 2023) was a Greek-Canadian artist painter, known primarily for his Canadian landscape scenes. Biography Soulikias was born in Komotini, Greece on 13 October 1926, and raised in Volos. Afte ...

and Goodridge Roberts exhibited their works here."Gallery Jean-Pierre Valentin" in ''Parcours'', Vol.2, n°2, March 1996-March 1997 The gallery exhibited also Henri Masson,

Berthe des Clayes Berthe des Clayes (1877–1968) was a Scots-born artist who lived in England and Canada. She was born in Aberdeen and studied at the Bushey School of Art with H. Herkomer and at the Académie Julian in Paris with Tony Robert-Fleury and Jules L ...

, Edmund Alleyn, Ghitta Caiserman, P.V Beaulieu, Lismer,

Borenstein Borenstein is a surname and may refer to: *Benjamin A. Borenstein (died 2006), American food scientist. *Johann Borenstein, Israeli roboticist and Professor. *Joyce Borenstein (born 1950), Canadian director and animator. *Larry Borenstein (1919–1 ...

, Pilot,

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

, Brymner, Cullen, Franchère, Adrien Hébert, Massicotte, Plamondon,

John Young Johnstone John Young Johnstone (November12, 1887February13, 1930) was a Canadian Impressionist painter, known for his paintings of life in city, town or countryside, as well as for scenes of Montreal's Chinatown. Biography Johnstone is considered to b ...

, Bourassa, Laliberté and

Henri Julien Henri Julien, baptised Octave-Henri Julien (14 May 1852 – 17 September 1908), was a Québécois artist and cartoonist noted for his work for the ''Canadian Illustrated News'' and for his political cartoons in the ''Montreal Daily Sta ...

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 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 ...

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

Molinari Molinari is an Italian language occupational surname for a miller. Notable people with this surname include: * Adriana Molinari, American (née Argentine) pornographic actress * Alberto Molinari (born 1965), Italian actor, producer, and director * ...

, 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 Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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.''Montreal print collectors society. Newsletter'', Vol. 15, n°5, February 1999 He is working on a catalogue raisonné of this artist.

References

External links

Valentin Gallery
{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Quebec History of Montreal 1934 establishments in Quebec Art galleries established in 1934