Paul-Émile Borduas
Paul-Émile Borduas
1905 - 1960
AUTO CAS QMG RCA
In 1948 Paul-Émile Borduas stunned Quebec with his radical manifesto, the Refus global. The manifesto was a complete rejection of the social norms and values of the era in Quebec at the time, especially under the oppressive rule of Maurice Duplessis. The Refus global called for uncensored thought and the separation of the church and the state. The manifesto is considered to have been one of the fundamental causes of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. There were fifteen signatories to the Refus global, many of whom were members of the artistic group the Automatists.

The Automatists were a group of non-figurative Québécois artists which was founded by Borduas in the early 1940s; they were influenced by Surrealism and its theory of automatism. The Automatists would meet in Borduas’s studio to discuss Marxism, Surrealism and psychoanalysis, all subjects that were condemned by the Catholic Church in Quebec. The Automatists held a number of exhibitions, notably in New York in 1946 and in Paris in 1947. What had begun as a dissident student group became an important cultural movement.

Quebec artist Ozias Leduc recognized Borduas’s talent early in his life, and hired him as his assistant in 1920, when Borduas was only 15. In 1923 Borduas entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, enabling him to teach in Quebec elementary schools, beginning in 1927. In 1937 Borduas became a Professor at the École du Meuble in Montreal; however, the publication of the Refus global in 1948 resulted in his dismissal.

In the early 1940s, Borduas's painting was figurative, but soon became increasingly abstract. By the late 1940s, the influence of automatism was present in his abstract works, which often took the form of shapes floating in space over colour field backdrops. Borduas left for the United States in 1953, first to Provincetown, then to New York, and prepared for his first solo show in that city at the Passedoit Gallery. Here he encountered the New York School of Abstract Expressionists, and light and space increasingly became the focus of his oil paintings. In 1954, he also produced a remarkable body of work in watercolour. Borduas moved from New York to Paris in 1955, where he produced his remarkable black and white paintings, which are classical and pure in their simplicity. Borduas died in Paris in 1960.

Some of the highlights from his exhibition history include a 1962 retrospective that originated at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and traveled to the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Toronto. In 1977, the Vancouver Art Gallery held an exhibition of his New York period works entitled Borduas and America, and in 1988 a major retrospective was held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. His work is in the collections of the Guggenheim Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, among many others.
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Figures schématiques by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $3,601,250
Paul-Émile Borduas
Figures schématiques
51 1/8 x 76 7/8 in, 129.9 x 195.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $3,000,000 - $5,000,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,601,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Miniatures empressées by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $1,441,250
Paul-Émile Borduas
Miniatures empressées
57 1/4 x 44 3/4 in, 145.4 x 113.7 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $900,000 - $1,200,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,441,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Thursday, November 23, 2023
Sans titre by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $781,250
Paul-Émile Borduas
Sans titre
24 x 19 5/8 in, 61 x 49.8 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $300,000 - $500,000 CDN
Sold for: $781,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Chant d’été by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $737,500
Paul-Émile Borduas
Chant d’été
42 x 36 in, 106.7 x 91.4 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $400,000 - $500,000 CDN
Sold for: $737,500 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2015 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Composition by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $631,250
Paul-Émile Borduas
Composition
36 x 48 in, 91.4 x 121.9 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $550,000 - $650,000 CDN
Sold for: $631,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Thursday, May 22, 2025
Libellules égarées by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $507,400
Paul-Émile Borduas
Libellules égarées
32 x 39 1/4 in, 81.3 x 99.7 cm
1953
oil on canvas
Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000 CDN
Sold for: $507,400 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2015 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2015
Sans titre by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $501,500
Paul-Émile Borduas
Sans titre
28 3/4 x 23 1/2 in, 73 x 59.7 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $300,000 - $400,000 CDN
Sold for: $501,500 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2014 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 27, 2014
Tendresse des gris by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $460,200
Paul-Émile Borduas
Tendresse des gris
36 x 30 in, 91.4 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $300,000 - $400,000 CDN
Sold for: $460,200 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2015 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Dominos by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $421,250
Paul-Émile Borduas
Dominos
39 1/4 x 31 3/4 in, 99.7 x 80.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $350,000 - $450,000 CDN
Sold for: $421,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Chant d’été by Paul-Émile Borduas sold for $409,500
Paul-Émile Borduas
Chant d’été
42 x 36 in, 106.7 x 91.4 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $250,000 - $350,000 CDN
Sold for: $409,500 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2011 - 1st Session on Tuesday, May 17, 2011