Alfred Pellan
Alfred Pellan
1906 - 1988
CAS OC PY QMG RCA
Alfred Pellan was born in Quebec City in 1906 and began his artistic studies at the École des beaux-arts when he was just 14 years old. He achieved early success, when two years later in 1922, the National Gallery of Canada purchased his painting A Corner of Old Quebec. In 1926 he was awarded a scholarship by the Quebec government and headed to Paris for further study. There, the work of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Vincent van Gogh, among others, encouraged his abstract and surrealist tendencies. He studied at the École supérieure national des beaux-arts de Paris, worked as a graphic designer, and designed fabric for the couturier Schiaparelli. The year 1935 saw his first solo exhibition at the Académie Ranson, and in 1939 he participated in a group exhibition in Washington titled Paris Painters of Today, which also included Salvador Dali, Picasso, Andre Dérain and Raoul Dufy.

As World War II began, Pellan returned to Canada and settled in Montreal, and mounted exhibitions of the work he produced in Paris in Montreal and Quebec City. He taught at the École des beaux-arts in Montreal from 1943 to 1952 while continuing to paint and draw, as well as illustrating books and designing sets and costumes. He also joined the short-lived group Prisme d’Yeux. He traveled to Paris again in 1952 on a research fellowship from the Royal Society of Canada, spending three years there before being given a retrospective at the Musée d’art moderne in Paris - the first ever Canadian to do so.

Returning to Montreal in 1955, Pellan continued his artistic production and participated in many important exhibitions both locally and abroad. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and his numerous awards include: Companion of the Order of Canada, the Paul-Émile Borduas prize and officer of l’Ordre national du Québec. He died in 1988 in Montreal.
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AVAILABLE WORKS
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La tour de Babel by Alfred Pellan sold for $118,000
Alfred Pellan
La tour de Babel
56 x 38 in, 142.2 x 96.5 cm
mixed media on board
Estimate: $90,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $118,000 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2015 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2015
Chasse aux papillons by Alfred Pellan sold for $94,400
Alfred Pellan
Chasse aux papillons
27 x 42 in, 68.6 x 106.7 cm
oil on canvas on board
Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $94,400 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2014 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 27, 2014
Village by Alfred Pellan sold for $74,750
Alfred Pellan
Village
21 x 25 in, 53.3 x 63.5 cm
1934
oil on canvas
Estimate: $45,000 - $65,000 CDN
Sold for: $74,750 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Femme à la perle by Alfred Pellan sold for $52,250
Alfred Pellan
Femme à la perle
32 x 21 in, 81.3 x 53.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000 CDN
Sold for: $52,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Angoisse by Alfred Pellan sold for $43,250
Alfred Pellan
Angoisse
11 3/4 x 9 in, 29.8 x 22.9 cm
circa 1955
mixed media on paper on board
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Mirage by Alfred Pellan sold for $43,050
Alfred Pellan
Mirage
36 x 25 in, 91.44 x 63.5 cm
1959
oil on canvas
Estimate: $45,000 - $55,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,050 CDN (premium included)
May 2000 Fine Canadian Art on Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Nature morte au litre de vin by Alfred Pellan sold for $38,350
Alfred Pellan
Nature morte au litre de vin
16 x 12 3/4 in, 40.6 x 32.4 cm
1936
oil on canvas
Estimate: $35,000 - $45,000 CDN
Sold for: $38,350 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2016 - 1st Session on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Phytographie by Alfred Pellan sold for $38,025
Alfred Pellan
Phytographie
28 x 22 in, 71.1 x 55.9 cm
mixed media on card on canvas on board
Estimate: $35,000 - $45,000 CDN
Sold for: $38,025 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2012 - 1st Session on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Soucoupes volantes by Alfred Pellan sold for $38,025
Alfred Pellan
Soucoupes volantes
12 7/8 x 17 5/8 in, 32.7 x 44.8 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $38,025 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2011 - 1st Session on Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Les masques by Alfred Pellan sold for $37,250
Alfred Pellan
Les masques
15 1/2 x 12 3/4 in, 39.4 x 32.4 cm
oil and ink on paper on board
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CDN
Sold for: $37,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Thursday, September 29, 2022