Christian Deberdt was born in Paris in 1947 into an artistic family. He attended the Gambetta Printing School and the Estienne Graphic Arts School in Paris, while apprenticing in photo and printing, at studios specializing in art reproduction.  In 1966, at the age of eighteen, with four years’ experience in the field of art reproduction, he left Paris to start a new life in Montréal, where his eldest brother was already established.  Christian made his living in various ways, working in some of Montreal’s best bars and restaurants and travelling through Canada and the United States selling encyclopedias. Christian started painting as a way to counter the boredom he experienced, staying in one hotel room after another. In 1976 he decided to become a full-time artist. Deberdt was greatly influenced by the Group of Seven, in particular by Lawren Harris’ graphic landscapes. Around this time he also discovered the work of another Canadian artist, Tom Forrestal, the hyperrealist. From these influences, a distinctly “Deberdtian” style and vision began to emerge.  Christian died in November 2011 in the Eastern Townships, at the age of 64.  Christian Deberdt’s work has been shown across Canada and the United States since 1976. His paintings can be found in many of the most prestigious collections in Canada.