Marcelle Maltais
Born in
Chicoutimi in 1933, Marcelle Maltais was educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in
Quebec, from 1949 to 1954, studying with the Masters Jean-Paul Lemieux and Jean
Dallaire. Her early works were figurative. She first presented them at the Café
de la Paix in Quebec in 1952-1953 and for the past fifty years has exhibited in
major shows on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1956, she became attracted to the
abstract movement of the time and for a decade she expressed herself in this style,
earning huge success for herself in Montreal with her lyrical paintings known
for their balance, composition, and sense of rhythm. But success alone did not
satisfy her. Turning her back on this quickly won fame, she left Quebec for Paris
in 1958; there, she began to question everything. Maltais continued with
abstraction over the next few years; however, she was tortured by a sense of
urgency for a "renewal", for finding a new dimension to her painting. Marcella
Maltais has divided her time between Paris, Hydra and Quebec. Currently, she lives
mostly in Paris but she maintains a studio in Quebec City, in the old part of
the city that is so dear to her heart. Marcelle passed away in 2018. |
Ciel de Paris
18" x 10.5" Oil on Canvas 1959 $11,500 |