(Quebec) The National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec announces that eight major works by Quebec artist Paul-Émile Borduas worth nearly 9 million have been donated to it by two patrons and collectors from British Columbia, Michael Audain , a residential real estate developer, and his wife, Yoshiko Karasawa.
Posted yesterday at 10:57
The management of the Museum points out that this remarkable gesture is in line with the promise of the donation of 39 works by the artist Jean-Paul Riopelle granted to the Museum by Mr. Audain and Mr.me Karasawa. These donations will be accompanied by a sum of 10 million for the construction of Espace Riopelle, which will be inaugurated in 2025 on the occasion of the celebrations surrounding the centenary of the birth of the artist.
The eight paintings by Borduas, essentially from the 1950s, represent one of the most important donations to the Museum, which underlines that the gesture of Mr. Audain and Mrs.me Karasawa brings iconic works back to Quebec and revives the collective memory of a decisive era for Quebec.
The public will be able to admire these masterpieces by Borduas from February 24th. They will be at the heart of a new exhibition presented at the Museum entitled Latent Energies. Paul-Émile Borduas in the present. The National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec is located near Parc des Champs-de-Bataille in Quebec City.
The national collection of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec included, until very recently, 21 works by Paul-Émile Borduas. In this context, the donation of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa enriches the collection.
In a press release, Michael Audain expresses the wish that Quebec can celebrate the memory and the contribution of Borduas to the cultural heritage of Quebec and Canada. He explains that he and his wife have long appreciated the late works of Paul-Émile Borduas, whom they consider a great master and a visionary.
He adds that they will miss the works, but that they are delighted to return a significant part of Borduas’ work to his native Quebec.