Henri L. Masson

Henri Masson LL.D. 

Henri Masson had a large presence both in art and in his life. Masson’s paintings are a significant contribution to Canadian art throughout a prolific career spanning more than four decades. 

The Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, our original family art gallery, hosted several successful one man exhibitions of the work by Henri Masson from the 1960. We featured a broad range of subject matter including figure studies, still life and landscapes he developed from day sketching trips in the Gatineau and trips farther afield on the south and north shores of the St Lawrence in Quebec and even as far as Newfoundland. Never without a sketch pad, while vacationing in Europe, Masson returned with inspired themes of landscapes and still life he experienced. 

As early in his career as 1943  the quality of  his work led to his paintings being featured in the 1943 film, Painters of Quebec, along with works by Jean-Paul Lemieux, Alfred Pellan, M. A. Fortin, Clarence Gagnon, Suzor-Coté and Andre Bieler. Then a couple of years later Marius Barbeau wrote “He now counts among the leading painters of French-Speaking Canada, with a compelling story all his own to tell.” [1]

Marius Barbeau wrote about Masson in 1945. Much of his story is about “le quotidien”, the daily life of his people. Certainly his experiences of music and dance, from the barn to the concert hall, and with the pageantry of the church, from his earliest days among the Christian Brothers in Ottawa, were integral to his upbringing and described by him with originality. 

“Still lifes and paintings of monks and choirboys, musicians, children and a great variety of commonplace activities deal with subjects that he considered to convey the essence of life. Masson used a loose, vigorous brush style in many media. His best works are full of detail and movement, with a broad range of colour, and convey a sense of immediacy to the viewer." [2] (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

Few today recall Douglas Duncan’s Picture Loan Society in Toronto where Masson had his first exhibition. Douglas Duncan was a connoisseur of the art of his day. Paul-Émile Borduas was to have his first Toronto exhibition with Duncan. And of course, for those who remember Duncan, he was legendary for his promotion of David Milne. 

Masson was an activist with and on behalf of artists including musicians, composers and filmmakers. The Conference of Art in Canada held in Kingston and the Federation of Canadian Artists were initiatives in which he participated. Masson was a member of the Canadian Group of Painters, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolours, Canadian Society of Graphic Arts and the Ontario Society of Artists. In 1955, Masson received an LL.D. from Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario.

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Footnotes:

[1] Marius Barbeau, Painters of Quebec (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1946), 34. 

[2] “​​Henri Léopold Masson,”  The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/henri-leopold-masson/