Andre Bieler
| André Charles Biéler | |
|---|---|
Biéler in his late forties
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| Born |
8 October 1896 Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Died | 1 December 1989 (aged 93) Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Swiss, Canadian |
| Occupation | Painter, teacher |
| Known for | Federation of Canadian Artists |
André Charles Biéler (8 October 1896 – 1 December 1989) was a Swiss-born Canadian painter and teacher. His work was modernist, at first with strong emphasis on line, later with more interest in light and colour. He is known for his genre Quebec landscapes with figures. He was the first president of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Canada Council and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
André Charles Biéler was born in Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 October 1896. His father, Charles Biéler, was director of the Collège Galliard. His mother Blanche was the daughter of the historian Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné (1794–1872). His family moved to Paris for twelve years, then immigrated to Canada in 1908. Biéler's father took a position as a teacher at the Presbyterian College, Montreal. Biéler studied at Westmount Academy and then the Institut Technique de Montreal. He intended to study architecture. During World War I (1914–18) Biéler joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1915. He was wounded and seriously gassed.
After being released from the army Biéler studied at the Lycée Carnot in Paris. In 1919 he returned to Canada, then went to Florida to recuperate, where Harry Davis Fluhart (1861–1938) gave him art lessons. He received a veteran's grant that allowed him to study under Charles Rosen (1878–1950) and Eugene Speicher (1883–1962) at the Art Students League of New York in . He returned to Montreal, where he became acquainted with members of the Beaver Hall Group.
From 1922 to 1926 Biéler spent most of his time in Switzerland, studying under his uncle Ernest Biéler, a painter and muralist. He helped his uncle with several frescoes in the town hall of Le Locle in the Canton of Neuchâtel. He also spent some time in Paris, France, and studied at the Académie Ranson under Maurice Denis (1870–1943) and Paul Sérusier (1864–1927). In 1924 Biéler had his first solo exhibition, at the Montreal Art Association. He lived on the Île d'Orléans in Quebec from 1927 to 1929, where he painted the habitants. He met A. Y. Jackson (1882–1974) at this time.
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