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AUGER, Irene
- Born
- Ste Croix de Lotbiniere, 1905
- Died
- Quebec, Quebec, 2003
- Biography synopsis
- Irene Auger, considered the first woman interior decorator in Quebec, entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Quebec in 1925 where she studied drawing, painting, sculpture and decorative arts. She subsequently studied at the Ecole des Arts domestiques, focusing on textile design as well as weaving. In 1938 she attended the American Institute of Interior Design in New York. Auger later opened her own interior design studio in Quebec City. She set up a small craft industry employing nine people in the studio as well as 30 more artisans who worked in their hometowns to produce the contemporary art fabrics she designed for furniture. In 1948 she won the Premier prix du concours artistique de la Province de Quebec (Section Arts decoratifs). In addition to working on a number of public buildings, including the Chateau Frontenac and Canadian embassies, she also sold her work in Toronto. In the 1960s she collaborated with Alfred Pellan, producing a tapestry based on one of his drawings. Examples of these collaborations are held in the collection of the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec and the Musee de la Civilization (Quebec). Her community engagement has been recognized through the creation of the student prize Prix d'excellence SHQ Irene-Auger en adaptation residentielle named in her honour.
- Media used
- Interior design
- Tapestry
- Weaving
- Education
- Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Quebec
- American Institute of Interior Design (New York)
- File & Archive locations
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec - Bibliothèque
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- ''Irène Auger.'' Biographies canadiennes-françaises 1968: 188
- ''Mlle Irène Auger.'' Jovette (Montreal) Dec.1945: 42
- Felteau, Cyrille. ''Interieur et personnalite : La maitresse de maison doit elle-meme suggerer au decorateur le theme qui egaiera son interieur.'' La Revue moderne (Montreal) 27.11 (Mar. 1946): 17, 21
http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2269975 - Hambleton, Josephine. "The Weavers of Ste. Croix." Ottawa Citizen 4 Dec. 1948
- Hickey, Gloria, et al. Common Ground: Contemporary Craft, Architecture and the Decorative Arts. Hull: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999
- Lamy, Suzanne et Laurent. La Renaissance des métiers d'art au Canada français Montréal: Québec- Ministère des Affaires culturelles, 1967
- Lesser, Gloria. Ecole du Meuble. Montreal: Le Chateau Dufresne, 1989
- Lesser, Gloria. "Lucien Desmarais: Un Precurseur de l'Art Textile contemporain du Quebec." Vie des Arts 31.123 (Ete 1986): 58-59
- Plamondon, Aimé. ''Décor ancien, décoration moderne.'' La Revue populaire (Montreal) 36. 11 (Nov.1943): 9, 63
- Robert, Guy. L'Art au Québec depuis 1940 Montreal: La Presse, 1973
- Simard, Cyril. Artisanat Quebecois Montreal: Les Editions de l'Homme, 1975
