Claude Theberge

Artist Biography

Born in Edmunston, New Brunswick, Claude Theberge began his lessons in painting as a child. Later on, he entered the École des beaux-arts in Quebec. There Theberge studied Graphic Arts, under masters such as Plamondon, Dallaire, Gagnon, Bastien, East, and Jean-Paul Lemieux. Theberge found the opportunity to fulfil his dream of studying in Europe through an international art, prints and posters competition launched by the UN in 1952. He was awarded First Prize among sixty-five thousand contestants. Theberge took full advantage of his stay in France. Notably, selected by Georges Braque, he had the privilege of representing the Cite Universitaire de Paris at the inter-university exhibition in Berlin.

Upon his return to Quebec the artist applied the theory of inter-relation between different artistic expressions and their socialization. He sought to share his knowledge and views by teaching. During his long career Théberge has received many awards. His art, prints and posters form part of the permanent collection of museums as well as many private and corporate collections around the world. He has created remarkable work which ornate important corporations and public spaces in his beloved Quebec.

After a long and extraordinary abstract period, in the 1980s, Théberge returned to figurative art "with a symbolic and surrealist tendency”, in the words expressed by the Parisian critic and gallery owner Hughes Bourdin (1989). Today, the artist continues to produce magnificent works in this same style. Whether the subject matter is a passionate lover's scene, a flower, a marina, a landscape or a cityscape the inherent purity of his art, prints and posters is a constant. Currently, he is most famous for his anthropomorphic umbrellas that in Théberge's own world are subject to the full range of human experience. Claude Théberge divides his time between his home in the Gaspé region and his Montreal studio.

Claude Theberge Art, Prints and Posters Collection