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SÉNÉCAL, Irène

Born
Montreal, Quebec, 1901
Died
Montreal, Quebec, 1978
Biography synopsis
Although successful as a painter, Irène Sénécal is remembered primarily for her innovations in art education in Quebec from 1930-1960. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (EBAM) from 1924-29, she began teaching there, as well as at various schools in the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal (CECM). Sénécal noticed that drawing was an area very often neglected in traditional art education, and started to experiment with different teaching methods during extra-curricular courses given at various libraries throughout the city. Her approach combined ideas from the disciplines of art, education, and psychology. Sénécal was inspired by the work of many anglophone artists in Quebec, particularly Anne Savage, whom she admired for her abandonment of academic principles in favour of a freer interpretation of nature. In 1949, she organized an exhibition of children's drawings at the Art Association of Montreal, which was warmly received by critics. After her new methods met with considerable resistance from the CECM, Sénécal accepted an invitation from Louis-Georges Chassé of the Commission scolaire de Lachine to design their art program, both at the primary and secondary level, according to her ideas. By training teachers at the EBAM from 1955-58, Sénécal ensured the diffusion of her approach to art education throughout the province. She retired from education in 1960, though continued to teach at the EBAM until 1968. Today, she is regarded as a pioneer in art education in Quebec, and her methods continue to be employed.
Media used
Drawing
Painting
Education
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, 1924 - 1929
File & Archive locations
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Concordia University Archives, QC
Université du Québec à Montréal
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"Exhibition of Art by Canadian Women." Canadian Art 4.2 (Feb-Mar. 1947): 80
"Fin d'année aux beaux-arts." Le Canada (Montreal) 31 May 1928: 3
"La présente exposition à l'École des Beaux-Arts." La Presse (Montreal) 24 Jun. 1928
"Le devoir de l'heure pour nos artistes." La Presse (Montreal) 25 Mar. 1929
"Le salon de l'école des Beaux-Arts." La Patrie (Montreal) 4 Jun. 1930
"Notre Couverture." La Revue Moderne 9.10 (Aug. 1928)
"Oeuvres de nos jeunes artistes." La Presse (Montreal) 2 Jun. 1928: 47
"Travaux des élèves qui forment une véritable exposition d'artistes." La Presse (Montreal) 3 Jun. 1930
"With Trilliums in Her Hair." Canadian Art 4.4 (Summer 1947): 147-8
Aubin, Jovette. L'enseignement des arts au Québec: Une histoire racontée par quatre éducateurs d'art. Montreal: Université du Québec à Montréal, 1993
Cloutier, Lise. L'integration du concept d'exercice de base dans l'enseignement de l'art ordine. Montreal: Université de Montréal, 1991
Flibotte, Colette. L'enseignement des arts plastiques au Québec de 1930 à 1987: Du discours politique à la réalité quotidienne. Montreal: Université du Québec à Montréal, 1988
Koos, Marybeth. "When a short narrative fits into a larger historical context." Remembering Others: Making Invisible Histories of Art Education Visible. Reston, Virginia: National Art Education Association, 2000
L'Allier, Pierre. "Reportage - L'art au féminin au Québec: Femmes artistes du siècle adolescent." Continuité 63 (Winter 1995): 34-6
Lalonde, Michel and Francine Pilote. Repertoire numérique detaillé du fonds Irène-Sénécal. Montreal: UQAM Service des archives, 1985
Lemerise, Suzanne. Analyse des relations entre le systeme d'enseignement et les arts plastiques appliquée à l'école secondaire dans la province du Québec. Paris: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 1980
Lemerise, Suzanne. Du dessin aux arts plastiques: l'héritage moderniste d'Irène Sénécal. Quebec: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 2006
Lemerise, Suzanne. "A new approach to art education in Quebec: Irene Senecal's role in the school system and the art field, 1940-1955." Canadian Review of Art Education 29.2 (2002): 60
Lemerise, Suzanne. "L'Art s'enseigne-t-il? Le point de vue d'Irène Sénécal [professeure à l'Ecole des beaux-arts de Montréal, de 1930 à 1968]" Vie des arts 144 (Sept. 1991): 44-47
Lemerise, Suzanne. "Teaching three-dimensional art in the schools, 1960-1980." Espace 56 (Summer 2001): 7-11
Lévesque, Albert and Pierre Dagenais. "La canadienne française et les arts." Almanach de la langue française (1936): 59-69
Musée du Québec. Au féminin: choix d'oeuvres de la collection du Musée du Québec, 1920-1930. Québec: Musée du Québec, 1997
National Council of Women of Canada. Canadian Women Artists' Exhibition, Sponsored by Local Council of Women of Kitchener. Kitchener: Canadian Arts Council and Department of External Affairs, 1947
National Council of Women of Canada. Canadian Women Artists, Sponsored by National Council of Women of Canada and National Council of Women of the U.S. New York: Riverside Museum, 1947
National Council of Women of Canada. Femmes peintres canadiennes: Expositions présentée par le conseil national des femmes canadiennes. 1947
Parent-Vidal, L. "Irene Senecal and the teaching of the plastic arts." Ateliers 4.6 (Mar. 1976): 6
Parent-Vidal, Louise. L'Éducation artistique et l'éducation par l'art: l'école de Montréal, 1940-1969: le travail d'Irène Sénécal Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 1970
Pearse, Harold, ed. From Drawing to Visual Culture: A History of Art Education in Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007
Pinet, Winifred. L'enseignement des arts plastiques au secondaire: Analyse des rapports du M.E.Q. de 1960 à 1979: Philosophie de base et application générale. Montreal: Concordia University, 1981
Reynald. "Beaux-arts chez Eaton." La Presse (Montreal) 18 Dec. 1935
Reynald. "Le fier succès des beaux-arts." La Presse (Montreal) 2 Jun. 1933: 10
Trepanier, Esther and Landry, Pierre. Femmes artistes du XXe siecle au Quebec: Oeuvres du Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec. Quebec, Quebec: Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec, 2010.
Trudeau, Louise. L'approche thématique dans l'enseignement des arts plastiques. Montreal: Concordia University, 1980
Val, Pierre. "Au salon des beaux-arts." La Presse (Montreal) 14 Jun. 1928: 1-2

Writings by
Gagnon, Berthe and Irène Sénécal. Écho de sans cailloux. Montreal: 1948
Gagnon, Berthe and Irène Sénécal. Un pas de plus "Sans cailloux". Montreal: 1949
Saint-Pierre, Marie; illustrated by Irène Sénécal. Une révolte au royaume des fleurs. Montreal: Les Éditions Leméac, 1964
Sénécal, Irène. L'Éducation artistique. Montreal: Musée d'art contemporain, 1976
Sénécal, Irène, et al. Sans cailloux: procédés en phonétique, correction du language, technique de l'éloquence, culture de la personnalité. Montreal: 1946, reprinted 1957
Sénécal, Irène, Louise Letocha, and Suzanne Lemerise. L'éducation artistique. Montreal: Musée d'art contemporain, 1976

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