Yves Gaucher | |
---|---|
Born |
Montreal |
January 3, 1934
Died | September 8, 2000 Montreal |
(aged 66)
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | École des Beaux-Arts in Montreal |
Known for | Painting, printmaking |
Spouse(s) | Germaine Chaussé |
Yves Gaucher (January 3, 1934 – September 8, 2000) was a Canadian abstract painter and printmaker. He became a member of the Order of Canada in 1981, and is considered the leader amongst Quebec's printmakers in the 1950s and 60s. His work has been featured in multiple important galleries, including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Yves Gaucher was born on January 3, 1934 in Montreal to Tancrède Gaucher, a pharmacist and optician, and Laura Élie Gaucher, as the sixth of eight children.
He attended the Collège Brébeuf in Montreal in 1948, but was expelled for drawing immoral pictures. These pictures were in fact copied from his textbooks on Ancient Greek and Egyptian art. A year after his expulsion he switched to an English-language Protestant school, Sir George Williams College and it was there that he took his first art course.
Music was very important to Gaucher. Raised in a musical home, where everyone played an instrument, Gaucher took up the trumpet at age twelve. His first full-time job was with the CBC, where he started in the mailroom. His ambition, however, was to become a radio announcer with his own jazz program. In the meantime he played gigs at night, and also organized a few jam sessions in 1955–56 at Galerie L’Actuelle, founded by Guido Molinari.
After the CBC he then went on to become an employee of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Line, working in its Montreal and Halifax offices.