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ARBOUR, Madeleine

Born
Granby, Quebec, 1923
Biography synopsis
Madeleine Arbour has worked in a variety of fields including television (both as reporter and set designer), teaching, as well as interior, stage and costume design. Arbour is recognized for her tapestries, murals and worked in furniture design. In the 1940s she was associated with the Automastistes including Jean-Paul Riopelle, Paul-Emile Borduas, and Pierre Gauvreau, and was a signatory of the “Refus global” manifesto in 1948. Arbour taught from 1962 to 1982, at both the Institute of Applied Arts in Montreal and College du Vieux-Montreal. In 1965 Arbour established her own interior design company. Some of her most notable work includes the Governor-General’s Official Residence, as well as designs for Via Rail Canada’s transcontinental coaches and the décor for Air Canada aircraft. Among some of her notable designs for set and costume are those completed for the Théatre du Rideau Vert and Compagnie Jean Duceppe. In 1984 Arbour was given special mention by the Conseil national du design for exceptional contribution to the development of Canadian design. She became a member of the Order of Canada in 1986, received the Prix Condorcet in 1998, and became a Chevalier de l' Ordre national du Québec in 1999. In 2000, le Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec dedicated an exhibition to her entitled "Madeleine Arbour: espace de bonheur."
Media used
Costume design
Mural painting and decoration
Painting
Textiles
Theatre design
Memberships
Order of Canada, 1986
File & Archive locations
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
Toronto Reference Library, ON
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Centre d'histoire La Presqu'ile, QC
CBC Digital Archives
University of Calgary Library, AB
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Etre Artiste Quebec, Quebec: L'Instant meme, 2015
"Designers in Spotlight: Elements of the Design." Gazette (Montreal) 17 May 2003: F.3
"Fashion Academy is Set for Montreal." Gazette (Montreal) 3 Mar. 1987: D.6
"Madeleine Arbour cree un Monde merveilleux." L'Artisian 20 Oct. 1966: 6
"Madeleine Arbour." Bilan du siecle. http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/bilan/pages/biographies/295.html Universite de Sherbrooke, 2009
"Madeleine Arbour: un parti-pris pour les artistes canadiens." Les Affaires 72.21 (20/26 May 2000): insert
Aarsteinsen, Barbara. "Designers Injecting Flair into Old, Mundane Items." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 27 Jun. 1987: B.1
Baele, Nancy. "Quebec Artists' Call to Arms." Ottawa Citizen 18 Apr. 1996: C.1
Baillargeon, Christiane. "Femmes artistes connaitre l'art autre." Vie des Arts 215 (Summer 2009): 40-43
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/52403ac
Belanger, Fernand. Via Borduas [video recording]. Montreal?: Cinéfilms, 1969
Beringer, Hubert. "La grange a Estrel, auberge et ermitage." Parcours 3.1 (Spring 1997): 32-33
Beringer, Hubert. "Madeleine Arbour: A Portrait in Space at the Musee de Quebec." Azure 16.132 (Nov./Dec. 2000): 21
Brownstein, Bill. "Rolling Museum Will Train Passengers to Appreciate Canadian Art." Gazette (Montreal) 21 Sep. 1990: C.1
Cantin, David. "Madeleine Arbour: Espaces de bonheur, inventer l'art de vivre." Vie des Arts 44.181(Winter 2000/2001): 31-4
Cantin, David. “Un art ou tout semble possible.” Le Devoir 23 Nov 2000: C3
Charest, Nicole. "Madeleine Arbour chez elle." Décomag 299 (Mar. 2001): 61-66
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Desmarais, Marie-Jose. "La vie commence a 40 ans." Chatelaine (French edition) 35.2 (Feb. 1994): 35-42
Gagnon, Myriam. "Madeleine Arbour : la grande dame du design québécois." Elle (Quebec) 159 (Nov. 2002): 206-208
Gagnon, Myriam. "Un dimanche a la campagne." Décomag 160 (Apr. 1987): 11-19
Galerie Bernard Desroches. Les fenêtres de ton hiver. Montréal: Galerie Bernard Desroches, 1977
Gauthier, Ninon. "Des oeuvres d'art dans l'environnement quotidien." Décomag 116 (Jan. 1983): 15-16
Gauthier, Ninon. "Les jardins secrets de Madeleine Arbour." Parcours 1.3 (Summer 1995): 56-58
Gillon, M.. "Madeleine Arbour: Art and Life." Vie des Arts 20.78 (Spring 1975): 24
Godfrey, Stephen. "'The Occident Express on Track' Via Rail has Spent $200-million Refurbishing Canadian Pacific's Classic Stainless Steel Railway Cars of the Fifties." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 22 Sep. 1990: C.1
Greenaway, Kathryn. "Les Impatients Bring Art Therapy to Mentally Ill." Gazette (Montreal) 10 Feb. 2007: E.13
Greenaway, Kathryn. "New Name, New Look." Gazette (Montreal) 5 Apr. 2003: G.1
Howell, Peter. "VIA's Hopes Riding on Reborn Canadian." Toronto Star 3 Oct. 1990: A.1
Institute of Design Montreal. "Madeleine Arbour." Infodesigncanada Canadian Heritage, 2001-2006
King, Annabelle. "Designer Offers Advice on Redecorating a Room." Gazette (Montreal) 17 May 2003: F.3
Labrèche-Larouche, Michelle. "Jouez le jeu! (La Demeure de Madeleine Arbour)." Chatelaine (French edition) 34.6 (Jun.1993): 86-88
Leclerc, Denise. Prélude à l'automatisme. Ottawa: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, 1994
Leclerc, Denise. Towards Automatism. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1994
Millot, Pascale. "Design d'interieur: le bonheur selon Madeleine Arbour." Chatelaine (French edition) 41.11 (Nov. 2000): 24
Mitchell, Beverly. "The Old Quarter - A Neighborhood Poised to Come Alive Series: Neighborhoods in Transition." Gazette (Montreal) 9 May 1987: I.2
Monahan, Iona. "Designer, Teacher, Person - 'She's Real.'" Gazette (Montreal) 29 May 2001: F.3
Monahan, Iona. "Take One Beret, Add a Little Vision..." Gazette (Montreal) 8 Sep. 1992: D.6
Monahan, Iona. "Women of Honour." Gazette (Montreal) 28 Sep. 1993: D.1
Monet-Chartrand, Simonne. "Madeleine Arbour." Pionnieres Quebecoises et regroupements de femmes d'hier a aujourd'hui Montreal: Les Editions du remue-menage, 1990
Morley, Marilyn. "Montreal Snapshots Hats off and Heads-a-popping." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 15 Dec. 1994: D.3
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. Paul-Émile Borduas Montréal: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1988
Musée du Québec. Madeleine Arbour: Espaces de bonheur. Québec: Musée du Québec, 2000
Office national du film. Les enfants de Refus global Montréal: Office national du film, 1998
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Simard, Cyril. Artisanat Quebecois Montreal: Les Editions de l'Homme, 1975
Smart, Patricia. Les Femmes du Refus global Montreal: Boreal, 1998
Société Radio-Canada. Jean-Paul Riopelle, peintre Montréal: Société Radio-Canada, 1994
Storey, Stephanie. "At Last she has Time to express Herself." The Montreal Gazette 25 Aug. 1977: 32
Theroux, Gisele. "Une Amie de Petit Ecran: Madeleine Arbour." L'Action Populaire 10 Nov. 1965: 2
Therrien, Jean. "Madeleine Arbour : sur un parcours singulier comme de la menthe fraîche à l'heure du thé..." ARQ 146 (Feb. 2009): 30
Thibault, Michele. "Air deco." EnRoute Apr. 1990: 68-72,76
Thibault, Michele. "Passionate pursuits." EnRoute Apr. 1990: 68-72,76
Tremblay, Odile. "Le Centenaire de Madeleine Arbour." Le Devoir 4 Mar. 2023
http://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/chroniques/783869/chronique-le-centenaire-de-madeleine-arbour
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.
Vieira, Emmanuelle. Design d'exposition: Dix mises en espace d'expositions au Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Québec: Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, 2004

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