Fonds P063 - Lucien Desmarais fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Lucien Desmarais fonds

General material designation

  • Multiple media

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

P063

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1911-1988, predominant 1947-1988 (Creation)
    Creator
    Desmarais, Lucien

Physical description area

Physical description

8.75 m of textual records
ca. 3400 photographs
430 posters
14 video cassettes
7 technical drawings
4 audio reels
3 video reels
ca. 100 textile swatches

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(September 4, 1925-November 16, 1988)

Biographical history

Lucien Desmarais (he sometimes signed his name Des Marais and sometimes DesMarais) was born in St-Césaire, Quebec, September 4, 1925. In 1954 he married Angéline Choquette, with whom he had two children, Marie-Claire and Paul. He died in Montreal November 16, 1988. He obtained a diploma in general studies from Collège St-André in St-Césaire in 1944. From then until 1946 he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts of Montreal. From 1946 to 1948 he took courses at the Université de Montréal, in art history under Maurice Gagnon and then on the history of French-Canadian civilization with J.M. Gauvreau. In 1956 he took specialized courses in weaving and tapestry-making at the École du meuble of Montreal.

He began his career in 1946 as a decorator and as a designer of hand-woven fabric. From 1953 to 1954 he worked for the Centrale d'artisanat du Québec and the Quebec Office for Crafts and Small Industries, where he was in charge of display and craft exhibits. From 1955 to 1956 he was an assistant set designer for six National Film Board of Canada feature films. He also worked in theatre as a properties assistant and as an assistant set decorator. Beginning in 1958, he oriented his production toward the creation of hand-woven fabrics for high-fashion apparel, draperies, carpets, and upholstery. A pioneer and advocate of hand-woven fabrics for Canadian fashion, he collaborated with Montreal couturiers Marielle Fleury, Michel Robichaud, Diane Paré, Irène Chiasson, Jacques de Montjoye, Jean-Raoul Fouré, Denyse Delrue, and Anne-Marie Perron. His work was presented in collections of Canadian fashion in Montreal, Quebec City, Paris, London, Milan, and Brussels. He participated in numerous craft exhibitions in Quebec and abroad.

From 1951 to 1961 he was secretary and public relations officer for the Association professionnelle des artisans du Québec. In 1972 he founded the Association des artisans de la ceinture fléchée du Québec and, in 1977, he founded the Biennale de la nouvelle tapisserie du Québec (BNTQ. From 1982 to 1983 he was a member of the board of directors of the Fil d'Ariane, a sheltered workshop where handicapped adults could make tapestries. In 1983, he was an advisor for the Grand Prix des métiers d'art ( = the Grand Prize for Handicrafts). In 1986 he founded the Centre d'arts textiles anciens et modernes ( = the Centre for Ancient and Modern Textile Arts).

In 1960 he received a bursary from the Quebec Office for Crafts and Small Industries. In 1961 he received the first prize for weaving at the crafts exhibition of the artisans du Québec. In 1962 he received the grand prize for weaving at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. In 1967 he received a Canada Council grant. He was the Quebec delegate at the Wurzburg Canadian Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1965, and in 1968 he represented the Canadian Guild of Crafts at the world congress of the World Crafts Council in Lima, Peru. In 1978 he was a Canadian delegate to the World Crafts Council congress in Kyoto, Japan. In 1981 and 1983 he was a BNTQ delegate at the International Biennial of Lausanne. In 1984 he was made a member of the Order of Canada.

He gave numerous speeches, and taught weaving and tapestry-making at the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal, at the CÉGEP St-Laurent, at Algonquin College, Ottawa, at the Pointe-Claire Arts Centre, and at his studio. He was an occasional invited teacher for the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Prince Edward Island Crafts Council, the University of New Brunswick, and other institutions in Quebec. He authored articles for a number of magazines, and his book Le tissage debasse-lissewas published by les Éditions Formart in 1972.

Custodial history

The fonds was donated to the Concordia University Archives in 1990 by Angéline Choquette, widow of Lucien Desmarais. The fonds was transferred from Concordia University's Records Management and Archives Department to Concordia University Libraries' Special Collections March 16-17, 2016, April 7, 2016, April 12-14, 2016, April 19-20, 2016, April 26, 2016, May 10-11, 2016, May 17-18, 2016, and June 8, 2016.

Scope and content

The fonds documents the arts and crafts in Montreal and elsewhere between the late 1940s and the 1980s. The fonds covers the evolution of Lucien Desmarais' career from its beginnings at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts until his death in 1988, including his activities in theatre and his travels. The fonds also reveals his diverse interests in theatre, entertainment, and general culture. The fonds is based on the professional activities of Lucien Desmarais, tisserand concepteur (weaver-designer) and gives information on his creations for high fashion and interior decoration and the annual exhibitions in which he participated. The fonds also gives information on his involvement in numerous associations and cultural organizations as founder, director, and jury member. The fonds gives information on his teaching activities and the courses he gave at various colleges, as well as his speeches.

The fonds includes correspondence, textile samples, course notes, theatre programs, posters, invitations to openings and exhibits, photographs, clippings, drawings, albums, and a scrapbook of clippings of fashion photographs with swatches of the fabrics used in the garments shown. It includes a major collection of documents on the history of textiles and the artists and craftspersons who made them.

The fonds is organized into the following series:
P063/A Biography
P063/B Education
P063/C Administration
P063/D Financial records
P063/E Theatrical properties man
P063/F Weaver-designer
P063/G Consultant
P063/H Teaching and speeches
P063/I External relations
P063/J Travels
P063/K Awards and honours
P063/L Writings and publications
P063/M Research documents
P063/N Shows
P063/O Graphic materials

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The fonds was donated to the Concordia University Archives in 1990 by Angéline Choquette, widow of Lucien Desmarais.

Arrangement

The series and sub-series were organized by the archivist, respecting their original order. Most of the titles of series and sub-series were designated by the creator.

Language of material

  • English
  • French

Script of material

    Location of originals

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Finding aids

    Box listings available.

    Associated materials

    Related materials

    Accruals

    Further accruals not expected.

    Rights

    Copyright belongs to the creator(s).

    Conservation

    The pages of the scrapbook and the related fabric samples have been placed in protective Mylar enclosures.

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Standard number

    Standard number

    Access points

    Place access points

    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Description record identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules or conventions

    Status

    Final

    Level of detail

    Full

    Language of description

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area