Fernand Leduc, Quebec abstract painter, dies at 97

Quebec painter Fernand Leduc died in Montreal on Tuesday at the age of 97 after a bout with cancer.

The abstract painter was a signatory of the controversial 1948 anti-establishment and anti-religion manifesto Refus global, or Total Refusal, along with artistic contemporaries such as Paul-mile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle.

Leducs contributions to the province were invaluable, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois said Tuesday.

Fernand Leduc figures among those who contributed to bringing Quebec into modernity, she said after learning of the painters death.

Born in Montreal on July 4, 1916 and a graduate of the now-defunct Montreal School of Fine Arts, Leduc befriended Borduas and Riopelle early in his career.

• CBC DIGITAL ARCHIVES: The Automatists

The three, along with at least a dozen other artists, became members of the Automatistes: a group of abstract artists inspired by French surrealism and the poetry of Andr Breton.

Leduc left Montreal for Paris for several years. There, he met Jean Bazaine an artist whom Leduc later said had a major influence on his own work.

The Quebec painter returned home in 1956 and took over as president of the Non-Figurative Artists' Association of Montreal. He later taught at Laval University in Quebec City and University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

Leduc received the Governor Generals award for visual arts and media arts in 2007.

An exhibition dedicated to work by Quebec paintersJean Paul Lemieux,Alfred Pellan,Fernand LeducandJean-Paul Riopelleopens on Feb. 20 at the Muse nationaldesbeaux-artsduQubec.