Michel Lessard, ethnohistorian, left us on April 5th. A passionate and generous man, an exceptional researcher, he has been a key figure in the field of material culture in Quebec over the past fifty years.
A consciousness-raiser and popularizer, he began his career by publishing in quick succession between 1971 and 1975 four outstanding works on the Quebec house, Quebec antiquities and popular ornament, “bricks” of 500 to 700 pages which will know a very wide distribution.
Two of these publications, The encyclopedia of the Quebec house and The traditional house in Quebec will quickly become “bibles” for generations of amateurs and restorers of old houses. Like his predecessors Marius Barbeau, Pierre-Georges Roy and Gérard Morisset, who documented the era of the French Regime, Michel Lessard deals with the different currents that have marked the evolution of architecture in Quebec since the establishment French until the 1960s. Years later, he liked to mention that it was then student work!
After this impressive documentary production, a new page of his activity as an ethnohistorian opens. Beginning in 1976, he was involved as designer-screenwriter in the creation of some thirty films with the best directors, a veritable fresco that illustrates the traditions, customs and beliefs of the country, grouped together in the series A country, a taste, a way. This first production was followed, in the early 1980s, by its participation in a series of 24 programs on the theme of the sacred, in which all its dimensions are evoked: architecture, furniture, clothing, goldsmithing, painting and sculpture as well as beliefs, practices and rites.
Encyclopedic output
When he began his teaching career at the University of Quebec in Montreal in 1978, his passion led him to focus on old photography, a field in which he would invest for many years; he will be the author of numerous publications between 1977 and 2010, including The Livernois, photographers and large volumes of old photos of the cities of Montreal and Quebec produced with collaborators.
At the same time, alongside his career as a teacher, researcher and lecturer, he chaired the Implementation Committee of the Musée des religions in Nicolet.
During the 1990s, he continued his research undertaken in the 1970s with exceptional publications on the world of material culture: Antique objects from Quebec 1. Domestic lifeIn 1994, Antiquities of Quebec – Ancient objects 2. Cultural and social lifein 1995, and Antique furniture from Quebec. Four centuries of creationin 1999, volumes with a very neat presentation and rich in illustrations which count 300 to 500 pages and in which unfolds the brilliant speech of the passionate ethnohistorian that is Michel Lessard.
In addition to publications on his favorite subjects, his career will be marked by many other publications of remarkable quality. Let us mention, among these, Ile d’Orleans. To the sources of the people of Quebec and of French America, published in 1998, an exceptional work, one of the beautiful books published in Quebec by its quality of writing, its rich iconography made up of old and current photographs, drawings and works of art, all in a layout very neat. This tour of the island testifies to the affection he has for his territory, the cradle of French civilization in America. In 2001, he turned to modernity, which he documented in a publication entitled Sainte Foy. The art of living in the suburbs of Quebecproduced in collaboration.
In 2007, The new encyclopedia of antiquities of Quebeca compendium of his three previous publications on the same theme, constitutes a monument of publishing in Quebec, exceeding 1000 pages, a sum of his considerable knowledge of the material culture of Quebec.
Outstanding Communicator
He had one last project underway, which began in 1999 with a call to homeowners who were members of the Friends and Owners of Old Houses of Quebec association and had restored their homes. He brought together photographs, archival documents, interviews to take a tour of Quebec through the vision of these people who have chosen to live in patiently restored old houses. Unfortunately, this project could not be completed.
In addition to his encyclopaedic production, this outstanding communicator will have, in a language that is both scholarly and accessible, written an incalculable number of articles, chronicles, press releases, reports; he will also have presented a number of conferences with great eloquence, participated in interviews and radio series; he will have campaigned for the protection of heritage and the environment, in particular in the group of initiatives and research applied to the environment, and he will have been present in many debates in society.
Michel Lessard has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions which underline the scope of his contribution to a better understanding of our society. Here are a few examples of the more than 25 important recognitions he has received: the Robert-Lionel-Séguin Prize; the Gérard-Morisset Prize; the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec, in 2010; and the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for exceptional merit, awarded on April 6, the day after his death, in a climate of great emotion.
We have a duty of gratitude towards this man full of ideas whose passion was nourished by pride and a deep attachment to his country. Let us remember the immense work he accomplished for the benefit of all his fellow citizens and the source of inspiration he was for many. The members of the Friends and Owners of Old Houses of Quebec were able to benefit from his generous presence, his advice, his encouragement during conferences, annual congresses or visits to old houses. His skills as a speaker and his knowledge enchanted everyone he met.
We will remember.