Jean Palardy

Jean Palardy OC GOQ (1905 – November 28, 1991)^[1] was a French-Canadian painter, art historian, ethnologist and filmmaker.

Biography

Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Palardy moved with his family to Canada as a child in 1908, one of eight children. He was educated at Collège Saint-Laurent and the séminaire de Sainte-Thérèse,^[2] before studying at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal.^[2] He married painter Jori Smith in 1930.

Palardy and Smith were both members of the League for Social Reconstruction, with his interest in French Canadian rural life influenced by his political beliefs. Artist Jack Humphrey stayed with Palardy and his wife, Jori Smith, while living briefly in Montreal, with the three of them in poverty, supporting themselves during the winter of 1933 by painting matchboxes.^[3]

He was responsible for the interior design of the Hôtel Le Chantecler [fr] in Quebec's Laurentian region in 1939.^[2]

He joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1941 and over 19 years directed a number of short films there including The Rising Tide, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject at the 22nd Academy Awards.

In 1963, he wrote his influential book on French Canadian design, Les Meubles anciens du Canada français, for which he received a grant from the Canada Council.

Palardy consulted on the restoration of the vessel Grande Hermine as well as that of the Fortress of Louisbourg.^[4] In 1975, he started restorations on the Jacques Cartier house. He also consulted for number of museums including the château Ramezay, McCord Museum, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec^[5] and the David M. Stewart Museum.^[2]

Filmography

as director

• 1947 - Métropole [fr]
• 1949 - The Rising Tide
• 1951 - Oyster Man
• 1951 - Îles-de-la-Madeleine
• 1952 - The Bird Fancier (L'Homme aux oiseaux)
• 1954 - Sorel
• 1954 - Bush Doctor
• 1954 - Artist in Montreal (On the Spot series)^[6]
• 1955 - Two Countries, One Street
• 1955 - Soirée de chantiers
• 1955 - The Lumberjack
• 1955 - Eye Witness No. 71
• 1955 - Chantier coopératif
• 1956 - Designed for Living
• 1956 - Agronomy
• 1957 - Carnival in Quebec
• 1958 - Trans Canada Summer
• 1959 - Correlieu

as screenwriter

• 1949 Le Gros Bill [fr]
• 1954 Sorel
• 1954 Bush Doctor
• 1955 Soirée de chantiers

as cinematographer

• 1955 Soirée de chantiers
• 1955 Eye Witness No. 71

as producer

• 1955 Soirée de chantiers

Honours

• Officer, Order of Canada (1967)^[7]
• Certificate of merit, Canadian Historical Association (1975)
• Grand Officier, National Order of Quebec^[2] (1992, posthumously)

References

1. "Jean Palardy". catalogue.bnf.fr (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
2. "Jean Palardy : Grand officier (1992)". Ordre national du Québec.
3. Niergarth, Kirk (2015). The Dignity of Every Human Being: New Brunswick Artists and Canadian Culture between the Great Depression and the Cold War. University of Toronto Press. p. 129. ISBN 9781442613898. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
4. Veyron, Michel (1989). Dictionnaire canadien des noms propres. [Montréal]: Larousse. pp. 520–521. ISBN 2-920318-06-3.
5. "Jean Palardy". www.collections.mnbaq.org. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
6. Robertson, Clive (2006). Policy Matters: Administrations of Art and Culture. YYZ Books. p. 166. ISBN 9780920397367. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
7. "Jean Palardy, O.C., G.O.Q." Le gouverneur général du Canada. Retrieved October 22, 2011.

External links

• Jean Palardy at IMDb
• Biography, Quebec in Cinema
• Watch films directed by Jean Palardy at the National Film Board of Canada