Timeline

1923

Born in Montreal, Canada

1938

Studied architecture at École Polytechnique, Montreal, Canada

1942 - 1944

Studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, Canada

1943 - 1945

Part of the Canadian art group "the Automatistes"

1945

Graduated from École du Meuble, Montreal, Canada
Began studying under instructor Paul Emile Bourdas

1946

Moved to Paris, France and befriended Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Samuel Beckett, Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp

1948

Brief return to Canada, co-founder of Refus Global

1955 - 1979

Lover and companion of Joan Mitchell, an important figure in the second generation of American Abstract Expressionists. They lived together in Paris for most of the 1950s and 1960s.

1955

Received honorable mention at the São Paulo Biennial

1958

Awarded a Guggenheim International Prize

1962

Awarded the UNESCO Prize at the Venice Biennale

1969

Received the Order of Canada

1973

Received the Philippe Hébert Prize

1974

Divided his time between St. Marguerite in Quebec and Saint-Cyr-en-Arthies in France

1981

Awarded the ‘Prix Paul-Émile Borduas’ in honour of his body of work

1988

Received the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris

2002

Died in Quebec, Canada