Infolettres

PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES
CAMPAGNE D’APPUIS POUR DÉSIGNER
UN ESPACE PUBLIC AUX AUTOMATISTES

Initiateur du projet : Claude Gosselin, claude.gosselin@ciac.ca

Lot 066

Plusieurs places publiques à Montréal ont été nommées en l’honneur de personnalités importantes dans l’histoire culturelle et sociale du Québec. Il est toutefois un groupe d’artistes qui attend une reconnaissance hautement méritée. Il s’agit des Automatistes qui, au cours des années 1945-1955 ont marqué les milieux des arts visuels, de la littérature, de la danse, du design, du théâtre et de la psychanalyse.

Récemment, la Ville de Montréal a lancé un concours international pour l’aménagement du lotno 066 du Quartier des spectacles / Place des arts

L’aménagement du lot 066 sera inauguré en 2023 : 2023 sera l’année du 75e anniversaire de Refus global et les 100e anniversaires de naissance de Jean Paul Riopelle, de Françoise Sullivan et de Magdeleine Arbour.

Nous proposons ainsi que le lot no 066 soit nommé
« PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES ».

 

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR EN SAVOIR PLUS

 

Photo © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.


 

MICHEL GOULET
COMMANDEUR DE L’ORDRE DE MONTRÉAL

 

Toutes nos félicitations à Michel Goulet pour sa nomination au grade de Commandeur de l’Ordre de Montréal, le grade le plus élevé de l’Ordre. Une reconnaissance bien méritée autant pour son œuvre que pour son engagement dans le milieu des arts visuels.

En savoir plus

Photo © Michel Goulet


 

DERNIÈRE CHANCE !
TIRAGE DE L’OEUVRE DE JOHN McEWEN

Le tirage de la photographie de John McEwen (Campagne de financement 2020) aura lieu le 1er décembre prochain !

Tous les nouveaux dons seront affectés au projet Cartographie des Automatistes, un projet très apprécié auquel nous ajouterons plus de 20 lieux à découvrir. Cette production bilingue s’inscrit dans les commémorations prévues en 2023 qui marqueront le 75e anniversaire de « Refus global » et le 100e anniversaire de naissance de Jean Paul Riopelle, de Françoise Sullivan et de Magdeleine Arbour.

McEwen

JOHN McEWEN
5000 Stars (Day Two), 2003
Photographie couleur
Édition de 10
55 x 42 cm
Une valeur de 1000 $

Les donateurs individuels recevront, pour chaque tranche de 100$, un billet pour le tirage de l’œuvre de John McEwen.

Les donateurs corporatifs recevront, pour chaque tranche de 500$, un billet pour le tirage de l’œuvre de John McEwen.

Faire un don

DONNEZ GÉNÉREUSEMENT
Aidez-nous à diffuser l’art d’aujourd’hui
Canada : 10089 0920 RR0001 – Québec : QCA 0235-0532

JE FAIS UN DON


 

PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES
SUPPORT CAMPAIGN TO DEDICATE
A PUBLIC SPACE TO THE AUTOMATISTS

Project initiator: Claude Gosselin, claude.gosselin@ciac.ca

Lot 066

Many public places in Montreal have been named in honor of important personalities of Quebec’s cultural and social history. There is, however, a group of artists who still await such a highly deserved recognition: the Automatists. During the years 1945-1955 in particular and thereafter, these artists left their mark in visual arts, literature, dance, design, theater and psychoanalysis.

Recently, the city of Montreal has launched an international competition for the development of lot no. 066 in the Quartier des Spectacles / Place des Arts.

The development of lot 066 will be inaugurated in 2023: 2023 will be the 75th anniversary of Refus global and the 100th birthdays of Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan and Magdeleine Arbour.


We therefore propose that lot no. 066 be named
« PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES ».

 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

 

Photo © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.


 

MICHEL GOULET
COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF MONTREAL

 

Congratulations to Michel Goulet on his appointment to the rank of Commander of the Order of Montreal, the highest rank in the Order. A well-deserved recognition as much for his work as for his involvement in the visual arts community.

Read More

Photo © Michel Goulet


 

LAST CHANCE!
DRAW OF AN ARTWORK BY JOHN McEWEN

The draw for John McEwen’s photograph (2020 Fundraising Campaign) will take place on December 1st!

All new donations will be allocated to the project Mapping the Automatists, a very popular project to which we will add more than 20 locations to discover. This bilingual production is part of the commemorations planned for 2023 which will mark the 75th anniversary of “Refus global” and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan, and Magdeleine Arbour.

McEwen

JOHN McEWEN
5000 Stars (Day Two), 2003
Color photography
Edition of 10
55 x 42 cm
Value of $ 1 000

Individual donors will receive a ticket for the draw of John McEwen’s work for every $ 100.

Corporate donors will receive a ticket for the draw of John McEwen’s work for every $ 500.

Donations

GIVE GENEROUSLY
Help Us Disseminate Today’s Art
Canada: 10089 0920 RR0001 – Quebec: QCA 0235-0532

DONATE

FAITES UNE PROMENADE ARCHITECTURALE !

Promenades architecturales

Ce matin, le CIAC MTL vous propose une promenade urbaine au cœur du patrimoine architectural montréalais !

Il y a 18 ans, en novembre 2002, le CIAC MTL organisait des visites guidées sur l’architecture dans le quartier de la Cité Multimédia. Comme la pandémie nous interdit les rassemblements intérieurs, nous vous suggérons de revivre cette activité libre en plein air : rendez-vous à la sortie Saint-Jacques du métro Square Victoria, avec votre téléphone intelligent et vos écouteurs, et consultez sur notre site web les Promenades architecturales 2002. Ce parcours vous guidera vers 12 lieux captivants du patrimoine architectural montréalais, et vous pourrez écouter, en vidéo, votre guide Nicolas Kenny vous raconter plus de trois siècles d’histoire et d’architecture.

 

DÉCOUVREZ LES PROMENADES ARCHITECTURALES 2002

 

Dans le cadre de la 3e Biennale de Montréal – 2002, organisée par le Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal (CIAC MTL), le volet architecture de l’événement a été marqué par des Promenades architecturales du quartier de la Cité Multimédia.

Commandées par le CIAC à Héritage Montréal, celui-ci a vu à la conception, la recherche et la mise en place des Promenades architecturales.

Du Square Victoria au canal de Lachine en passant par la Cité Multimédia, les promenades architecturales font découvrir les nombreux visages du faubourg des Récollets. Elles soulignent les aspects fonctionnels et esthétiques du patrimoine architectural ancien et récent du faubourg et relatent des faits historiques, économiques et socio-démographiques d’intérêts.

Les promenades racontent trois siècles d’histoire et d’architecture tout au long d’un parcours pédestre commenté par un guide professionnel. Les commentaires touchent aussi bien les bâtiments, les aménagements urbains, les lieux de rassemblements que la vocation de ce quartier.

 

Bonne promenade !

PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

PARC-PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

48 heures après avoir lancé un appel pour la nomination d’une Place des Automatistes à Montréal, nous avons reçu 40 appuis. C’est dire l’enthousiasme que cet appel a suscité.

Nous avons suggéré que le Lot 066 du Quartier des spectacles soit dévolu à ce groupe d’artistes qui a marqué Montréal au cours des années 1945-1955 et dont les carrières individuelles se sont prolongées sur plusieurs années après.

Ce Lot 066 est au centre des lieux où les Automatistes ont vécu, étudié et exposé au cours des années 1940-1950.

Parmi ces lieux, mentionnons le Collège Sainte-Marie rue De Bleury, l’École des beaux-arts de Montréal rue St-Urbain, l’École du Meuble rue Berri, l’École polytechnique rue St-Denis, les résidences de Claude et Pierre Gauvreau au 75 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, de Muriel Guilbault au 374 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, de Françoise Sullivan rue Hutchison, les expositions tenues au magasin Morgan rue Ste-Catherine et au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, la Librairie Tranquille rue Ste-Catherine Ouest où a été lancé le manifeste Refus global, les pièces de théâtre jouées au Gésù rue De Bleury et Congress Hall boul. René-Lévesque, les vitrines de Madeleine Arbour chez Birks, l’Atelier de Fernand Leduc rue Jeanne-Mance… Vous trouverez des notes sur chacun de ces lieux sur notre site web dans la Cartographie des Automatistes.

Nous croyons qu’il y a là une justification pour la nomination de ce Lot 066, au Quartier des spectacles / Place des arts de toutes les disciplines, à la mémoire de ces artistes qui ont été actifs en arts visuels, en danse, en théâtre, en littérature, en cinéma-télévision, en musique et en design.

Si vous voulez appuyer ce projet, veuillez signaler votre geste à automatistes@ciac.ca. Nous vous remercions et nous vous tiendrons au courant de l’évolution de ce projet.

J’APPUIE CE PROJET

 

Image © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.


PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

 

48 hours after launching a call for the nomination of a Place des Automatistes in Montreal, we received 40 supports. This is to say the enthusiasm that this appeal is generating.

We suggested that Lot 066 in the Quartier des spectacles be devoted to this group of artists who left their mark in Montreal during 1945-1955 and whose individual careers continued for several years afterwards.

This Lot 066 is at the center of the places where the Automatists lived, studied and exhibited during the years 1940-1950.

Among these places are the Collège Sainte-Marie on De Bleury street, the École des beaux-arts de Montréal on St-Urbain street, the École du Meuble on Berri street, the École polytechnique on St-Denis street, the residences of Claude and Pierre Gauvreau at 75 Sherbrooke street West, of Muriel Guilbault at 374 Sherbrooke street West, of Françoise Sullivan on Hutchison street, the exhibitions held at the Morgan store on Ste-Catherine street and at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Librairie Tranquille on Ste-Catherine street West where the Refus global manifesto was launched, the plays performed at the Gésù on De Bleury street and at Congress Hall on René Lévesque blvd, Madeleine Arbour’s window displays at Birks, Fernand Leduc’s studio on Jeanne-Mance street … You will find notes on each of these places on our web site at Mapping the Automatists.

We believe that there is a justification for the nomination of this Lot 066, at the Quartier des spectacles / Place des arts of all disciplines, in memory of these artists who were active in visual arts, dance, theater, literature, cinema-television, music and design.

If you want to support this project, please write us at automatistes@ciac.ca. We thank you and we will keep you posted on the progress of this project.

I SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

 

Image © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.

PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

LANCEMENT D’UNE CAMPAGNE D’APPUIS POUR
DÉSIGNER UN ESPACE PUBLIC AUX AUTOMATISTES

PARC-PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

Plusieurs places publiques à Montréal ont été nommées en l’honneur de personnalités importantes dans l’histoire culturelle et sociale du Québec. Il est toutefois un groupe d’artistes qui attend une reconnaissance hautement méritée. Il s’agit des Automatistes qui, au cours des années 1945-1955 tout particulièrement et par la suite, ont marqué les milieux des arts visuels, de la littérature, de la danse, du design, du théâtre et de la psychanalyse. Ont signé le manifeste Refus global, publié le 9 août 1948 : Madeleine Arbour, Marcel Barbeau, Paul-Émile Borduas, Bruno Cormier, Marcelle Ferron, Claude Gauvreau, Pierre Gauvreau, Muriel Guilbault, Fernand Leduc, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Maurice Perron, Louise Renaud, Thérèse Renaud, Françoise L’Espérance-Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan.

Actuellement, un concours a été ouvert pour l’aménagement du lot no 066 du Quartier des spectacles / Place des arts. Nous croyons que cet espace public serait l’endroit tout désigné pour honorer ces artistes qui ont eu un impact certain sur la société québécoise.

Nous lançons une campagne d’appuis pour que le lot n066 soit nommé PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES. Si vous voulez appuyer cet appel, écrivez-nous à automatistes@ciac.ca en nous fournissant votre nom et votre adresse courriel. Nous vous remercions et nous vous tiendrons au courant de l’évolution de ce projet.

J’APPUIE CE PROJET

 

Image © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.


PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES

SUPPORT CAMPAIGN TO DEDICATE
A PUBLIC SPACE TO THE AUTOMATISTS

Many public places in Montreal have been named in honor of important personalities of Quebec’s cultural and social history. There is, however, a group of artists who still await such a highly deserved recognition: the Automatists. During the years 1945-1955 in particular and thereafter, these artists left their mark in visual arts, literature, dance, design, theater and psychoanalysis. The Refus global manifesto, published on August 9, 1948, was signed by: Madeleine Arbour, Marcel Barbeau, Paul-Émile Borduas, Bruno Cormier, Marcelle Ferron, Claude Gauvreau, Pierre Gauvreau, Muriel Guilbault, Fernand Leduc, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Maurice Perron, Louise Renaud, Thérèse Renaud, Françoise L’Espérance-Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan.

Currently, a competition has been opened for the development of lot no. 066 in the Quartier des Spectacles / Place des Arts. We believe that this public space would be the perfect location to honor these artists who have had a definite impact on Quebec society.

We are launching a support campaign for lot no. 066 to be named PLACE DES AUTOMATISTES. If you would like to support this call, write to us at automatistes@ciac.ca with your name and email address. We thank you and we will keep you posted on the progress of this project.

I SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

 

Image © Arrondissement Ville-Marie.

JEAN PAUL RIOPELLE
SOUVENIRS D’HUGUETTE VACHON

Huguette Vachon

Dans Fenêtres intimes, Huguette Vachon raconte quelques moments des seize années qu’elle a vécues avec Jean Paul Riopelle de 1986 à 2002, année de la mort de l’artiste.

On y découvre des aspects des personnalités de Riopelle et de Joan Mitchell, deux artistes intimement liés dans la vie et dans la création ; de Riopelle et d’Huguette Vachon dans un amour sans faille ; de la fidélité de Riopelle avec ses amis. Aussi très important pour les historiens de l’art, on y découvre la manière de travailler de Riopelle et des « clés » pour saisir le pourquoi de certains éléments dans les œuvres, leurs compositions picturales et leurs liens avec le quotidien émotionnel de l’artiste.

Une erreur doit toutefois être signalée : l’utilisation du trait d’union entre Jean et Paul dans le nom de l’artiste. Riopelle refusait ce trait d’union.

 

En savoir plus

 

Image : Huguette Vachon, Jean-Paul. Fenêtres intimes, Éditions Leméac, 224 pages. Photo © Leméac 2020.


JEAN PAUL RIOPELLE
HUGUETTE VACHON REMEMBERS

In Fenêtres intimes, Huguette Vachon recounts a few moments of the sixteen years she lived with Jean Paul Riopelle from 1986 to 2002, the year of the artist’s death.

We discover aspects of the personalities of Riopelle and Joan Mitchell, two artists closely linked in life and in creation, of Riopelle and Huguette Vachon in unfailing love, of Riopelle’s loyalty to his friends. Also very important for art historians, we discover Riopelle’s work habits and the « keys » to grasp the why of certain elements in his works, their pictorial compositions and their links with the artist’s emotional daily life.

However, one error should be pointed out: the use of the hyphen between Jean and Paul in the artist’s name. Riopelle refused this hyphen.

 

Learn more

 

Image: Huguette Vachon, Jean-Paul. Fenêtres intimes, Éditions Leméac, 224 pages. Photo © Leméac 2020.


CHARLES NÈGRE
ET LA LETTRE Q

Charles Nègre

De toutes les discussions qui ont lieu sur l’utilisation du mot nègre, on passe sous silence les personnes dont le nom de famille est Nègre. Parmi celles-ci, il y a le photographe et inventeur Charles Nègre (1820-1880), dont on retrouve des photos dans la collection permanente du Musée des beaux-arts du Canada.

Comment devra-t-on maintenant identifier ces photos ? Devra-t-on nier à l’auteur son nom de famille ? Devra-t-on l’appeler Charles dont le nom est en « n » ?

On ne peut nier l’existence des mots qui sont les fruits de l’histoire humaine. Leurs créations ont été arrêtées pour répondre à des besoins précis dans des contextes variés. Il arrive même qu’un mot ait plusieurs significations. Que l’utilisation de certains mots fasse aujourd’hui l’objet de réflexions sous de nouveaux entendements, il faut en tenir compte, mais de là à les nier, il y a une méconnaissance de l’intelligence humaine.

Il n’y a pas si longtemps, les religieuses qui nous enseignaient à l’école primaire nous empêchaient de prononcer la lettre Q, au son « cul », pour nous imposer le son « que ». Aujourd’hui on en rit beaucoup et la lettre Q a repris sa place dans l’alphabet phonétique.

Claude Gosselin, Montréal

 

Image : Charles Nègre, Ramoneurs en marche, décembre 1851. Épreuve sur papier salé, 15,2 x 19,8 cm. Photo © Musée des beaux-arts du Canada 2020.


CHARLES NÈGRE
AND THE LETTER Q

Of all the discussions that take place on the use of the word Nègre (Negro), people whose last name is Nègre are overlooked. Among these, there is the photographer and inventor Charles Nègre (1820-1880), whose photos can be found in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

How should we now identify these photos? Should the author be denied his last name? Should we call him Charles of the « N » name?

There is no denying the existence of words which are the fruits of human history. Their creations have been made to meet specific needs in various contexts. Sometimes a word even has multiple meanings. The usage of certain words is now the subject of reflections and new understandings, as it should be. But denying their historic usage is a misunderstanding of human intelligence.

Not so long ago, the nuns who taught us in elementary school would prevent us from pronouncing the letter Q, with its French pronunciation « cul » (ass), to force the sound « que » on us. Today this is merely a hilarious memory, and the letter Q has resumed its place in the phonetic alphabet.

Claude Gosselin, Montreal

 

Image: Charles Nègre, Ramoneurs en marche, décembre 1851. Salted paper photography, 15.2 x 19.8 cm. Photo © National Gallery of Canada 2020.

Tirage de l'oeuvre de John McEwen

TIRAGE DE L’OEUVRE 
5000 STARS (DAY TWO), DE JOHN McEWEN

Le tirage de la photographie de John McEwen (Campagne de financement 2020) aura lieu le 1er décembre prochain!

Tous les nouveaux dons seront affectés au projet Cartographie des Automatistes, un projet très apprécié auquel nous ajouterons plus de 20 lieux à découvrir. Cette production bilingue s’inscrit dans les commémorations prévues en 2023 qui marqueront le 75e anniversaire de « Refus global » et le 100e anniversaire de naissance de Jean Paul Riopelle, de Françoise Sullivan et de Magdeleine Arbour.

JOHN McEWEN
5000 Stars (Day Two), 2003
Photographie couleur
Édition de 10
55 x 42 cm
Une valeur de 1000 $

Les donateurs individuels recevront, pour chaque tranche de 100$, un billet pour le tirage de l’œuvre de John McEwen.

Les donateurs corporatifs recevront, pour chaque tranche de 500$, un billet pour le tirage de l’œuvre de John McEwen.

Faire un don

DONNEZ GÉNÉREUSEMENT
Aidez-nous à diffuser l’art d’aujourd’hui
Canada : 10089 0920 RR0001 – Québec : QCA 0235-0532
www.ciac.ca/dons

JE FAIS UN DON EN LIGNE


 

DRAW OF THE ARTWORK 
5000 STARS (DAY TWO), BY JOHN McEWEN

The draw for John McEwen’s photograph (2020 Fundraising Campaign) will take place on December 1st!

All new donations will be allocated to the project Mapping the Automatists, a very popular project to which we will add more than 20 locations to discover. This bilingual production is part of the commemorations planned for 2023 which will mark the 75th anniversary of “Refus global” and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan, and Magdeleine Arbour.

JOHN McEWEN
5000 Stars (Day Two), 2003
Color photography
Edition of 10
55 x 42 cm
Value of $ 1 000

Individual donors will receive a ticket for the draw of John McEwen’s work for every $ 100.

Corporate donors will receive a ticket for the draw of John McEwen’s work for every $ 500.

Donations

GIVE GENEROUSLY
Help Us Disseminate Today’s Art
Canada: 10089 0920 RR0001 – Quebec: QCA 0235-0532
www.ciac.ca/en/donations

I DONATE ONLINE

 

Kiwanga 1
Kiwanga 2

KAPWANI KIWANGA
LAURÉATE DU PRIX MARCEL DUCHAMP 2020

L’artiste canadienne Kapwani Kiwanga a remporté l’une des plus prestigieuses récompenses en arts visuels de France, le Prix Marcel Duchamp, pour sa série intitulée « Flowers for Africa » [Des fleurs pour l’Afrique] présentée dans le cadre de l’exposition collective qui réunit les quatre nommés de l’année au Centre Pompidou, à Paris. L’œuvre traite des thèmes récurrents de l’artiste : l’appropriation coloniale et les récits de personnes marginalisées.

Âgée de 42 ans, Kapwani Kiwanga a étudié l’anthropologie et la religion comparée à l’université McGill de Montréal avant d’intégrer un post-diplôme à l’École des beaux-arts de Paris, et utilise des méthodes issues des sciences sociales pour déconstruire les récits de la sphère géopolitique contemporaine, donnant à ses recherches la forme d’installations, de sculptures, de photographies, de vidéos ou de performances.

Depuis 2000, le Prix Marcel Duchamp présenté au Centre Pompidou a pour objectif de récompenser les artistes les plus représentatifs de leur génération et de promouvoir à l’international la diversité des pratiques actuellement présentes en France.

En savoir plus sur l’artiste

Image (gauche) : Kapwani Kiwanga, 2020. © Musée des beaux-arts du Canada / MIV.

Image (droite) : Kapwani Kiwanga, 2016. Photographie Bertille Chéret. Courtoisie de l’artiste et de la Galerie Poggi, Paris.

 


 

KAPWANI KIWANGA
WINS THE MARCEL DUCHAMP 2020 PRIZE

Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga won one of the most prestigious visual arts awards in France, the Marcel Duchamp Prize, for her series entitled « Flowers for Africa » ​​presented as part of the collective exhibition which brings together the four nominees of the year at the Center Pompidou, Paris. The artwork deals with the artist’s recurring themes: colonial appropriation and the stories of marginalized people.

Kapwani Kiwanga, 42, studied anthropology and comparative religion at McGill University in Montreal before completing a post-diploma at the École des beaux-arts de Paris, and uses methods from the social sciences to deconstruct stories of the contemporary geopolitical sphere, transforming her research into installations, sculptures, photographs, videos, or performances.

Since 2000, the Marcel Duchamp Prize presented at the Center Pompidou has aimed to reward the most representative artists of their generation and to promote internationally the diversity of practices currently present in France.

Learn more about the artist

Image (left): Kapwani Kiwanga, 2020. © National Gallery of Canada / MIV.

Image (right): Kapwani Kiwanga, 2016. Photo Bertille Chéret. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Poggi, Paris.

En souvenir de Louise Renaud

Décès de LOUISE RENAUD, signataire de Refus global

 

Nous annonçons avec regret le décès de Louise Renaud survenu lundi le 19 octobre dernier à l’âge de 98 ans. Louise Renaud laisse dans le deuil sa fille Barbara et sa sœur, la chorégraphe Jeanne Renaud. Elle était la sœur de la poétesse et écrivaine Thérèse Renaud et de son frère Louis, photographe, tous deux décédés. Elle était l’épouse de feu Francis Kloeppel, éditeur au MOMA. Elle résidait à Berkeley, aux États-Unis.

Louise Renaud, née le 3 août 1922, est intimement liée aux Automatistes de Montréal. Elle signe le « Refus global » en août 1948. Elle a quitté Montréal pour parfaire ses études en scénographie à New York en 1943. Tuteure des enfants du galeriste Pierre Matisse, elle a l’occasion de rencontrer plusieurs artistes de l’avant-garde européenne dont Duchamp, Breton, Ernst et combien d’autres. Elle se fera un devoir de partager avec ses amis/amies de Montréal l’information qu’elle reçoit sur le surréalisme et ce qu’elle constate sur la scène artistique newyorkaise. Elle leur envoie les publications VVV, Minotaure et autres livres introuvables à Montréal. À divers moments, elle accueillera et aidera Françoise Sullivan, Jeanne Renaud, Fernand Leduc et Jean Paul Riopelle lors de leurs passages ou de leurs séjours à New York. Elle a été d’une grande générosité avec ses amis/amies.

Nous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances à sa famille et à ses amis, dont je peux me prévaloir avec honneur et tristesse.

 

Claude Gosselin, C.M.
Conseiller artistique
Directeur général et artistique
Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal
claude.gosselin@ciac.ca

 

Image : De g. à d. : Louise Renaud, Jeanne Renaud, Claude Gosselin. Photographie © Ed Kostiner.

 


 

LOUISE RENAUD, signatory of Refus global, has passed away

 

We regret to announce the death of Louise Renaud on Monday October 19 at the age of 98. Louise Renaud is survived by her daughter Barbara and her sister, choreographer Jeanne Renaud. She was the sister of poet and writer Thérèse Renaud and Louis, photographer, both deceased. She was married to the late Francis Kloeppel, editor at MOMA. She resided in Berkeley, United States.

Louise Renaud, born August 3, 1922, was closely linked to Montreal’s Automatist group. She signed the “Refus global” in August 1948. She left Montreal to complete her studies in scenography in New York in 1943. Tutor to the children of gallery owner Pierre Matisse, she had the opportunity to meet several European avant-garde artists, including Duchamp, Breton, Ernst, and many others. She regularly shared with her friends in Montreal precious information she received on surrealism and what she saw on the New York art scene. She sent them the publications VVV, Minotaure and other books unavailable in Montreal. At various times, she hosted and helped Françoise Sullivan, Jeanne Renaud, Fernand Leduc and Jean Paul Riopelle during their visits and their stays in New York. She was very generous with her friends.

We offer our deepest condolences to her family and her friends, among whom I count myself with honor and sadness.

 

Claude Gosselin, C.M.
Art Consultant – Freelance Curator
General and Artistic Director
Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal
claude.gosselin@ciac.ca

 

Image, from left to right: Louise Renaud, Jeanne Renaud, Claude Gosselin. Photo © Ed Kostiner.

Cartographie des Automatistes

CARTOGRAPHIE DES AUTOMATISTES
FRANÇOISE SULLIVAN À LA MAISON ROSS

Un jour, par un heureux hasard, Françoise, qui se cherche un studio pour enseigner la création en danse et la chorégraphie, rencontre une amie d’enfance, Anna Saint-Charles. Les deux amies s’étaient rencontrées quelques années plus tôt alors qu’elles vivaient rue Hutchison près de la rue Prince-Arthur. Anna Saint-Charles lui suggère de s’adresser à son cousin, un capitaine au Mess des officiers à la Maison Ross. Une entente est conclue et Françoise aura la permission d’utiliser le mess tous les jours sauf les deux jours où les officiers sont sur les lieux. Elle y aura son studio jusqu’en 1950…

Découvrez le studio de danse de Françoise Sullivan à la Maison Ross, lieu où elle présenta, le 3 avril 1948, son « Récital de danse ».

Lire Françoise Sullivan à la Maison Ross

 

Suivez notre projet « Cartographie des Automatistes à Montréal » en visitant le lien ci-dessous. Au final, 50 lieux où les Automatistes ont été actifs entre 1939 et 1955 seront répertoriés. L’apport de ces artistes dans les domaines des arts visuels, de la danse, de la littérature, du théâtre, du design et de la psychanalyse au Québec et au Canada est immense.

Consultez la carte des lieux fréquentés par les Automatistes

Partagez ce projet avec vos ami.e.s, et invitez-les à s’abonner à notre infolettre ! Les versions françaises et anglaises des données sont disponibles sur notre site web. Les fiches sont mises à jour régulièrement, corrigées, augmentées. N’hésitez pas à nous faire vos commentaires à claude.gosselin@ciac.ca.

Image : Maison James Ross, construite en 1892. Architecte : Bruce Price. Photo © William Notman, Musée McCord. Aujourd’hui, la Maison Ross est intégrée à l’Université McGill et sert de pavillon pour la Faculté de droit (Pavillon Chancelor Day).

 

FRANÇOISE SULLIVAN
AU MUSÉE RÉGIONAL DE RIMOUSKI

Exposition de Françoise Sullivan au Musée régional de Rimouski, du 21 octobre 2020 au 31 janvier 2021. Cette première rétrospective itinérante organisée par le Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (commissaire Mark Lanctôt) souligne la contribution majeure de l’artiste Françoise Sullivan à l’histoire de l’art moderne et contemporain du Québec.

Cliquer ici pour en savoir plus

 

Image : Musée régional de Rimouski en 2010, 1 août 2010. Photo © Christian T.

STÉPHANE AQUIN
NOUVEAU DIRECTEUR AU MBAM

Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) a annoncé son nouveau directeur général, Stéphane Aquin. Conservateur en chef au cours des cinq dernières années au Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden à Washington, Stéphane Aquin revient à présent à Montréal et remplacera Nathalie Bondil.

Toutes nos félicitations et bon retour à Montréal!

Cliquer ici pour en savoir plus

 

Photo © 2020 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

TROP C’EST TROP au MBAM

Par Claude Gosselin, C.M., 25 septembre 2020

 

Nous apprenions mardi le 22 septembre courant dans un article paru dans Le Devoir et par les réseaux sociaux que quatre candidates allaient se présenter à l’élection des membres du conseil d’administration du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) lors de l’assemblée annuelle du 29 septembre prochain.

Les candidates, Caroline Codsi, Valentine Goddard, Claudette Hould et Lydie Olga Ntap, partagent une même solidarité envers la directrice sortante du MBAM, Nathalie Bondil. Et c’est là la raison de leur action à se présenter à la gouvernance du musée. On peut se demander qui est à l’origine d’une telle idée?

Faut-il rappeler que les membres du conseil d’administration d’un organisme à but non lucratif (OBNL) ne représentent qu’eux ou elles-mêmes et non une alliance commune sur un point circonstanciel qui les relient. Le c.a. du MBAM n’est pas un parti politique ni une corporation privée. Les membres d’un OBNL sont indépendants les uns des autres et ne devraient avoir pour seul but que la bonne gouvernance de l’institution en fonction du mandat qui leur est donné. Monsieur Michel Nadeau, expert en gouvernance, nous l’a rappelé dans une intervention publique récemment.

Comment les autres membres du c.a. percevront-ils/elles cette action des quatre candidates? Il y a là le germe de conspirations pour créer des clans, des votes stratégiques, des prises de position irrationnelles au sein des membres du c.a. du musée.

Nous aurions aimé que les candidates développent davantage leur soudain intérêt à être membres du c.a. en précisant leur volonté « de proposer un vent de fraîcheur, d’amener une expertise … une réplique à un statut quo ». Nous aurions aimé connaître leurs vues sur la gouvernance du musée?

Comment entendent-elles répondre au « climat toxique » reconnu dans un rapport d’une firme externe et confirmé par plusieurs employés du musée? Elles ne parlent pas de cet élément important qui est à la source de toute la saga que vit actuellement le MBAM. Peut-être en parleront-elles plus tard, avant l’assemblée annuelle.

Un élément de la bonne gouvernance d’une institution est d’assurer un climat de travail respectueux pour ses employés/ées. Cette règle, cette volonté, est encore plus importante que de vouloir maintenir une bonne presse pour l’institution à l’échelle locale ou internationale. Si on se place « sous le signe de l’humanisme, de l’inclusion et de l’innovation », alors les candidates devraient immédiatement déclarer leurs opinions sur ce climat dénoncé et indiquer les actions qu’elles veulent mettre de l’avant pour remédier au problème.

Il n’est pas certain que ce bloc de candidates apporte une aide à la directrice sortante. Bien au contraire, nous croyons que, par association, la poursuite que cette dernière intente contre les membres du c.a. et le musée lui-même s’appauvrit d’elle-même.

 

Claude Gosselin, C.M.
Conseiller artistique
Directeur général et artistique
Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal
claude.gosselin@ciac.ca

 

Image : Looking west across Sherbrooke on a sunny morning, 13 août 2017. © Jim Henderson.


 

A fight at the museum: In Montreal, a feud between an acclaimed curator and the board that fired her enters a new stage

Nathalie Bondil gave the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts a striking makeover, but its board says she also made it a tough place to work. Her dismissal this summer has fractured the worlds of Canadian art, philanthropy and finance – and a meeting next week could decide what happens next.

By Kate Taylor and Chris Hannay
The Globe & Mail, Totonto

Read this article on The Globe & Mail’s website

When the troubled Montreal Museum of Fine Arts holds its annual general meeting next week, the gathering will be virtual but the drama will be real. It will feature the next skirmish in the summer-long civil war between the museum’s former director, Nathalie Bondil, and the board that fired her in July, a battle in which Canada’s corporate captains, cultural philanthropists and arts mavens have been busy taking sides while foreign museums watch with interest.

Before her dismissal, Ms. Bondil had served as both general director and chief curator, rapidly building the MMFA into one of Quebec’s crown jewels, an institution recognized internationally for its innovative programs and the most visited fine art museum in Canada. Yet the museum’s board said a dysfunctional work environment made it impossible to keep her.

An alarmed Quebec government was not convinced: Culture Minister Nathalie Roy commissioned a report on the museum’s governance and threatened to cancel a $10-million provincial grant that had been promised for a new wing devoted to Montreal-born abstract artist Jean-Paul Riopelle. That report has not been made public but the decision by board chair Michel de la Chenelière to step aside before the Sept. 29 meeting suggests the government may have found problems with the way the board handled Ms. Bondil’s dismissal.

Investment executive and philanthropist Pierre Bourgie, who had publicly criticized Ms. Bondil’s management style after her departure, has stepped forward to replace Mr. de la Chenelière, who will still seek re-election for his seat on the board. Four seats are coming up for election, and four Montreal businesswomen have stepped forward to challenge the board-approved candidates, who include Mr. de la Chenelière and two other incumbents, in an effort to shake up a board dominated by high-profile philanthropists. Meanwhile, Ms. Bondil has launched a $2-million lawsuit, alleging the board has defamed her.

As culture wars, accusations of prejudice and allegations of harassment erupt at museums across North America, Montreal’s case features an unprecedented public battle between a high-flying international impresario who won France’s Légion d’Honneur in 2019 and the volunteer board of a treasured institution now pained to discover that her staff weren’t so impressed.

“The Montreal Museum had achieved fame with its exhibitions that left the beaten path, its shows on design, fashion, cinema. … It had this international renown for its art therapy programs,  » said Stéphane Chagnon, general director of the Société des musées du Québec, in French. “In the face of this success and growth of attendance … it’s almost a Greek tragedy: There is this reversal from one day to the next and the hero becomes the anti-hero.”

When the museum fired Ms. Bondil on July 13, Ms. Roy herself said she was shocked: “The MMFA is Nathalie Bondil!” she told Le Devoir newspaper. Staff took offence at the Culture Minister’s suggestion one person could be credited with the intensive creative labour that is a good museum, but Ms. Roy had inadvertently hit the nail on the head: The problem at the MMFA was that it often seemed as though Ms. Bondil and only Ms. Bondil was the museum.

To some, Ms. Bondil is legitimately celebrated as the ebullient French museum executive who put Montreal on the map with blockbuster exhibitions and headline-grabbing community programs, such as one that encourages doctors to prescribe museum visits for depressed patients. For others, she stands accused of creating a dysfunctional working environment in which micromanagement and last-minute panics were the order of the day.

Current and former staff complain that Ms. Bondil involved herself in every detail of exhibition and gallery planning to the point of disrespecting her curators and rearranging or planning installations without consulting them, while causing significant delays and cost overruns. In several installations, walls were repainted multiple times or even ripped out. “She wanted to oversee every decision, including the colour of the walls,” said Laura Vigo, a curator at the museum. “It was like having an overprotective mother. … She thought she knew everything.”

Were these firing offences? The two sides in this debate mainly agree on the chain of events that led to Ms. Bondil’s dismissal, but suggest very different interpretations of the motivations. They argue over whether the board was only doing its legal duty in ensuring a safe workplace or has overreached its authority and meddled in day-to-day operations, in particular when it insisted on its own candidate to become Ms. Bondil’s new deputy. Over Ms. Bondil’s objections, the job of curatorial director went to Mary-Dailey Desmarais, a relatively young but well-respected curator who has a PhD in art history from Yale and family connections to Quebec’s powerful Desmarais clan.

In person, the woman at the centre of this controversy is highly energetic and overflowing with ideas and information. In media interviews, Ms. Bondil would press the museum’s achievements on her listener without appearing egocentric.

“She’s very passionate; she has an extremely clear vision, she’s demanding …. she knows what she wants,” said Anne Eschapasse, the museum executive who Ms. Bondil has identified as her favoured candidate for the job Ms. Desmarais got.

Trained at France’s prestigious Ecole du Louvre, Ms. Bondil joined the MMFA as curator in 1999 and was promoted to chief curator a year later. When her mentor, the general director Guy Cogeval, departed in 2007, she eventually took over his job. However, she also retained the post of chief curator, a dual function that several observers suggest was her downfall.

“That’s the moral of this story; those are the two of the most demanding jobs in a museum, director and chief curator should never be the same person,” said Marc Mayer, former director of the National Gallery of Canada. “You can blame the board, not for hiring her, she’s a very talented person, but for promoting her while letting her keep her old job.”

Under Ms. Bondil’s supervision, both running the institution and planning its shows, the museum boomed: She programmed popular blockbusters featuring international artists such as Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder, and fashion designers, including Jean-Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler. Visitation rose to new heights, hitting 1.3 million in 2017, the year of Montreal’s 375th anniversary, and 1.1 million last year. The museum also reached out to community groups so that its growing audience included school children using its online programs as well as Alzheimer’s patients and anorexic teens doing art therapy.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bondil bridged the traditional social divide between French and English wealth in the city to raise money for building projects from both, doubling the museum’s floor space in a decade. Mr. Bourgie contributed to a new wing that opened in 2011 and included a concert hall in a converted Anglican church, adding performance to the institution’s bursting portfolio. Collectors and Holocaust survivors Michal and Renata Hornstein donated their collection of historical art to a new four-storey addition erected at the back of the museum in 2016. The Hornstein Pavilion for Peace includes the education and art therapy centre, named for Mr. de la Chenelière, a philanthropist who made his fortune in educational publishing.

You could criticize this expansionism and people have, complaining about growth for growth’s sake, a lack of rigour in the blockbusters and a lack of attention to both the permanent collection and to Canadian and Quebec art. La Presse art critic René Viau has called out the museum’s exhibitions for pandering to public tastes while art dealer René Blouin questions the need for continual expansions and flashy installations, suggesting the museum should concentrate on presenting masterworks in simple surroundings. Financier and collector Stephen Jarislowsky, in an opinion piece published after Ms. Bondil’s departure, said he had been disappointed that the museum had lost two curators of Canadian art in a row after he made a donation to help fund that area.

But these were subtle critiques from cultural insiders. The public and the politicians were very happy with Ms. Bondil. She was honoured with the Order of Quebec in 2011 and the Order of Canada in 2015. In her native France, where she won the Légion d’Honneur last year, she was regularly cited in the Paris media and included in public debates, recognized as a key advocate for the new museum, a place that was culturally diverse and community engaged.

Montreal had watched Toronto’s millennial cultural boom with envy, as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum unveiled expansions designed by star architects, but by the mid-teens, the rival city could boast it was home not just to the world-famous Cirque du Soleil and the internationally renowned Montreal International Jazz Festival, but also the most-visited art museum in Canada. In a society where cultural achievement is tied to the idea of nation, the MMFA had become a point of pride and a central Quebec institution.

Inside the museum, however, things were not so rosy; staffers were deeply unhappy with management they describe as so chaotic it defied professionalism. In interviews with The Globe and Mail before she filed her lawsuit, Ms. Bondil agreed that the museum ran into problems during the fall 2019 installation of the much-delayed One World galleries, a geographic stroll through global culture dedicated to the museum’s collection of archeological objects and non-Western art. The staffer who supervised the installation was driving her team too hard, Ms. Bondil said.

She added the installation had been postponed twice because it took time to develop new curatorial approaches in galleries that pair historic and ancient art with contemporary pieces, and that, as director, she was ultimately responsible for fashioning an artistic vision that would have public appeal.

But Ms. Vigo, one of the curators who created those galleries, said the problems could be traced to Ms. Bondil’s insistence on curating the objects herself, continually blocking the vision of the three curators assigned to the task in favour of her own selections. The final installation was so delayed that 1,000 objects, some of them priceless ancient artifacts, were left to be installed in the last week. “We were always managing a crisis; there was always something you never expected happening,” Ms. Vigo said.

Staff at the museum said the problems, which were particularly related to the installation of exhibitions and galleries, went back years.

“We were working in an environment with a total lack of decisional structure other than Nathalie’s whim,” said Anne Grace, who has served as curator of modern art at the museum for 13 years and organized the exhibition devoted to Mr. Calder’s famous mobiles in 2018. Mere weeks before that opening the museum was still negotiating with the exacting Calder Foundation about paint colours: The first wall visitors encountered had been painted three shades of grey and yellow before Ms. Bondil finally signed off on red.

Ms. Bondil said that she did not recall the incident, but that it is standard to experiment with wall colours in museum installations.

In another instance, Richard Gagnier, head of the museum’s conservation department, said he returned from a summer holiday in 2016 to find that a polyurethane rubber wall meant to evoke a gay bar had been installed as part of an exhibition of photographs by the American artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Mr. Gagnier, who had not been informed of this design element, said the material would emit sulphur that could darken the photographs and he had to insist it be removed.

Staff say Sandra Gagné, then the head of exhibition production, was the “magician” responsible for requiring that Ms. Bondil’s last-minute requests were met. Ms. Gagné left the museum shortly after Ms. Bondil was dismissed in July. Ms. Gagné did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms. Bondil had imported from France a style of exhibition design, often created by professional architects, that wowed visitors with highly dramatic spaces painted in strong colours and defined with columns, arches, platforms or false walls. The first gallery in the Thierry Mugler show in 2019 was lit like a stage set and featured the French designer’s costumes for a production of Macbeth, including a holographic reproduction of Lady Macbeth’s farthingale bursting into flames. A 2018 show devoted to Napoleon turned a gallery into a throne room with scarlet wallpapers, red and gold floors and projections on the ceiling.

But curatorial and conservation staff sometimes felt important and delicate art was coming second to the general effect, while Ms. Gagné’s installers worked to impossible deadlines. Staff members complained to their union and the union, frustrated by a lack of response, finally took the matter to the board in 2019. It was the action that ultimately lead to Ms. Bondil’s dismissal.

The board, led by Mr. de la Chenelière, ordered an independent report on the situation from the Montreal human-resources consultant Le cabinet RH. The report was delivered last October, but Ms. Bondil said it was never shown to her. The board has replied that while the text itself was kept confidential to protect employees who had spoken with the consultant, Ms. Bondil was well acquainted with its contents after a three-hour presentation. The report made several recommendations, including the appointment of a director for the curatorial department who would act as a buffer between Ms. Bondil and her curators.

Ms. Bondil said she accepted that recommendation readily and acknowledges she was overworked and needed a deputy. “I was always in favour of the creation of this new position, the director of curatorial. It was a great solution,” she said.

However, by the time the board and Ms. Bondil were interviewing candidates in June, it had become clear there were two sides in this process and they were far apart. The board wanted the insider, Ms. Desmarais, who Ms. Bondil had hired in 2014, to take the job; Ms. Bondil was backing an outside candidate, the more experienced Ms. Eschapasse, who had worked at the museum as an assistant to Ms. Bondil from 2009 to 2011 and had recently left the National Gallery of Canada after four years as its deputy director.

In the public speculation that followed, much was made of Ms. Desmarais’s connection to the museum’s historic donors, the family whose name graces the very building where she works. The daughter of American financier Gordon Pattee, the curator is married to Paul Desmarais III, grandson of the late Paul Desmarais, founder of Power Corp.

The family has long been philanthropically associated with the museum and its art adviser, former senator Serge Joyal, sits on the museum’s board. When news of Ms. Bondil’s firing first broke, both France Chrétien Desmarais and her husband, André, Mary-Dailey Desmarais’s aunt and uncle by marriage, made statements to the Quebec press supporting Ms. Bondil.

Their niece joined the family in 2008, when she wed Paul Desmarais III, who was working at Goldman Sachs in New York while she was completing her PhD in art history at Yale. (Her subject was cleverly counterintuitive: death and darkness in Claude Monet’s art.) The couple live with their four children in a Westmount house they purchased from former prime minister Brian Mulroney and his wife, Mila, for $4.8-million in 2015.

Her high-flying connections may have helped Ms. Desmarais land her first job as a junior curator at the MMFA – Ms. Bondil said she did not consider the curator had any conflict of interest when she hired her – but they don’t appear to be the reason the board promoted her. Although her experience was curatorial, not managerial, the board members were looking for an insider who understood what was going wrong at the MMFA and had expressed concrete ideas about how to fix it. (Ms. Desmarais declined to comment on her appointment or Ms. Bondil’s departure.)

“The board is seeking to restore harmony. Getting the person who can do that is at least as important as how experienced they are,” said Diana Nemiroff, a former National Gallery of Canada curator who is completing a book about that institution’s three female directors.

Despite entrusting her to curate the large exhibition of post-Impressionist art currently showing at the MMFA, Ms. Bondil has said that Ms. Desmarais had the lowest marks of the four finalists for the curatorial director job. Ms. Bondil suggested appointing the more senior Ms. Eschapasse instead, while making Ms. Desmarais an assistant. However, in a statement released in August, the board said the marks for each candidate were assigned by Ms. Bondil herself.

Around this time, the board offered Ms. Bondil several opportunities to complete her contract – which was set to expire in June, 2021 – while keeping her title and working on two exhibitions, but handing over management to the board. The board said she refused and denied there was any problem.

Ms. Bondil said she considered this constructive dismissal, although a labour lawyer consulted by The Globe said Ms. Bondil has little grounds to complain of constructive dismissal, because she had participated in attempts to rectify the situation such as the creation of the curatorial director’s position. Her one option would be to sue for damages, explained Ralph Farley, senior counsel specializing in labour law, at Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur LLP.

Instead, Ms. Bondil is now suing the board for defamation in a suit filed last week, alleging that accusations about the work environment are a cover for the real reason the board fired her: because she refused to sign off on the process by which Ms. Desmarais got the curatorial director’s position. In allegations not proven in court, Ms. Bondil’s suit said the board had fixed on Ms. Desmarais back in February.

When Ms. Desmarais was appointed director of the curatorial division in early July, Ms. Bondil declined to lend her name to a news release saying the hiring process had been transparent and unanimous. By this point, her disagreements with the board and with Ms. Desmarais’s candidacy were so apparent, she had actually been excluded from the final round of interviews with Ms. Desmarais and Ms. Eschapasse.

According to the board’s account, it was the publication of newspaper stories citing her disagreement that led to Ms. Bondil’s actual dismissal. A story in Le Devoir cited the candidates’ marks to show that the recently appointed Ms. Desmarais scored lower than the others. Knowing these marks were in Ms. Bondil’s control, the board concluded she was the newspaper’s source. Ms. Bondil said she was not the source of the leak.

“Nathalie Bondil was dismissed because she betrayed the confidence of the Board by refusing to address pressing workplace issues … by her inappropriate behaviour during the process that led to the appointment of the … curatorial director, and by discussing confidential and misleading information with the press,” the board said in a fact sheet accompanying its August statement.

“What has put the Museum in a bad light has been the relentless media and political campaign which Nathalie Bondil began in the week before her dismissal and has pursued ever since, and which has been based on a one-sided and false presentation of the facts. She has vilified Michel de la Chenelière, the board, and the chosen candidate, and has presented the conflict as a personal power struggle between herself and Michel de la Chenelière.”

Indeed, since Ms. Bondil’s dismissal, she and the board have been waging a proxy war through a series of opinion pieces published in the Quebec press, while some museum directors in France and in the United States have sprung to her defence with public comments. The struggle culminated last week in Mr. de la Chenelière’s withdrawal and Ms. Bondil’s lawsuit.

One of the main issues in these debates is governance: What right did the board have to impose a curatorial director on its general director? Mr. Jarislowsky, a corporate governance activist, has said the board was acting correctly in taking control of a lax situation. But businessman Michel Nadeau, who chairs the investment committee of the MMFA Foundation, argues Mr. de la Chenelière was grabbing power for himself. (Previously, Mr. de la Chenelière has said that the board was legally obliged to rectify the work situation at the museum but he declined to be further interviewed for this story.)

Professionals with no direct ties to the museum or Ms. Bondil mainly agree that while the board would normally not be expected to intervene in such a hiring decision, the circumstances were extraordinary. “This isn’t nearly as much about the hiring of the specific person as it is about reacting to a serious malaise that has been created under the director’s watch,” Ms. Nemiroff said. “This is the real reason why the board has authority to intervene.”

Two months after Ms. Bondil left, that malaise still hovers: The museum is both eerily empty and surprisingly busy these days, as security guards shepherd carefully spaced visitors toward one of the few displays that is open, the temporary exhibition devoted to post-Impressionist art. The show, featuring works by Paul Signac, Berthe Morisot and Odilon Redon, among many others, was brought to Montreal thanks to Ms. Bondil’s long connections to an unidentified European collector. He is quoted in text panels praising the former director’s “energy, inventiveness and charm.”

And yet it was Ms. Desmarais who did the actual legwork, fashioning a curatorial narrative from an idiosyncratic collection of 500 diverse artworks created in Paris around the turn of the century. Observers might guess that great drama attended its installation, but what do the masked visitors care as they strategically plot their path through the crowd? As the woman who once ruled the place launches missiles over the battlements, Montreal’s prized art museum soldiers on.