Arthur Villeneuve

Arthur Villeneuve

“Villeneuve  has his own vision of the world around him. Certainly this is acutely true of Quebec where he was born and which he has painted in the style of a chronicler of old. This Chicoutimi Barber-painter has interpreted every facet of Quebec life.”*

Arthur Villeneuve was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec, growing up in a working class family, working as a barber. Villeneuve’s passion for art came at a later stage in his life. He perceived his late interest in art as a manifestation of a form of divine justice.*

His art was not influenced by others, it was influenced by life, his life, and experiences. It started as a hobby and it grew into a vision .In 1956 Arthur Villenueve started painting the inside of his house, covering the interior, walls and ceilings, and then the exterior of the house. Until finally in 1959 the house was completed. He called his house Le Musee d’artiste, and decided to open it to the public*.

In 1964, the ONF produced its first film on Villeneuve and his work. The film was titled Villeneuve, painter-barber. In 1972, photographs of his house were shown in Quebec, Montreal, and Vancouver. Also, in 1972, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts organized a solo show dedicated to Villeneuve’s work, entitled Arthur Villeneuve’s Quebec Chronicles. The show travelled to the Musee de Quebec, The Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and numerous other Canadian museums..

Credits
*Credits: David Giles Carter, Arthur Villeneuve’s Quebec Chronicles, 1972, pg’s 4-14