Pellan, Alfred

Pellan, Alfred älfrĕdˈ pĕläNˈ [key], 1906–88, Canadian painter, b. Quebec. Pellan sold his painting Corner of Old Quebec to the National Gallery, Ottawa, when he was 16. He lived in Paris from 1926 until 1940, when he returned to Canada. Influenced by cubism and surrealism, Pellan became in turn a guiding force for younger Canadian artists when his work was exhibited in Montreal in 1940. He painted murals for many art galleries (e.g., Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1968) and public buildings, and his work was frequently exhibited internationally.

See study by D. W. Buchanan and P. Gladu (1960).

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