Regional Art Collection

Head of a Man, 1950
Pastel and chalk on watercolor paper
61 x 27 cm

Gerald Trottier is known for works imbued with spirituality and humanity, and for his vivid color style inspired by surrealism and expressionism. After the war, he enrolled at the Art Students League in New York. He then traveled to England and France to study medieval culture, which features prominently in his works from the 1950s. It was at this time that he exhibited his work for the first time at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In 1963, he represented Canada at the 8th São Paulo Biennale alongside Roy Kiyooka, Jacques Hurtubise, and Claude Toussignant. The 1970s were marked by landscapes he painted from Île-du-Grand-Calumet, where he owned a farm with his wife, Irma. He lived there from 1980 to 2002. From this place, he created two major bodies of work: the Easter series and his self-portraits. Gerald Trottier exhibited in five international exhibitions, eighteen solo shows, and fifty-three group exhibitions. His work is held in public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. Gerald Trottier passed away in 2004.