Robert-Émile Fortin (December 19, 1945 – July 8, 2004) was a Quebec painter. He was born in

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of Canada's ...

, the son of Émile Fortin and Aline Boisvert. His mother died before he was two years old and Fortin was raised at the Sainte-Thérèse Orphanage in

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Quebec Route 148, Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is ...

and the Saint-Joseph Orphanage in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Fortin spent his summers at the farm of his grandmother Aldéa located near Lac Leamy. After he completed primary school at the age of twelve, he attended secondary school in Sainte-Rose-de-Lima (now part of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

) and Gatineau, living at first with his grandmother but later in foster homes. Fortin worked at a number of jobs: as a cleaner and bartender at a bar and at a paper mill, before securing a job as a graphic artist with the federal Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. In 1968, he married Monique Lemieux. Later that year, he entered the Arts faculty at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. In 1970, he returned to work with the federal Department of the Environment (formerly part of Energy, Mines and Resources). In 1973, he held his first exhibition of paintings in Hull with L'Amicale Artistique de l'Outaouais. In 1974, he enrolled in night courses with the Ottawa School of Art. Facing a conflict between his growing interest in drawing and painting and his career as a civil servant, Fortin resigned after he was offered a promotion to department head in 1974. His work, originally non-figurative, gradually evolved into a naïve folk art style. During this period, Fortin moved to a farm in Mulgrave Derry, Quebec. The wood stove of the farm house there became an important element in his future work. He taught art courses in the Ottawa region from 1979 to 1981. In 1983, he embarked on a tour of Europe where he studied art and sold his art to galleries and private collectors. On his return to Canada, Fortin began to produce limited edition

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" ...

prints of his works. In 1984, he moved from his farm to the town of

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

. In the following year, he opened a gallery nearby. Later that year, he travelled to

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

where he gave courses in silkscreening. In 1988, Fortin returned to

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...

ings on canvas and left Buckingham, establishing himself in downtown Hull. In 1997, he moved to a studio and gallery in the

Mont-Tremblant Mont-Tremblant () is a List of cities in Canada, city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremb ...

area. Fortin died in the Laurentians at the age of 58.

References

* 1945 births 2004 deaths Artists from Quebec Naïve painters People from Gatineau 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 20th-century Canadian male artists {{Canada-painter-stub