ArchivesSpace at the University of Iowa

Scope and Contents Google review: Born in Montreal, Gauvreau attended the College Ste-Marie, then studied philosophy at the Universite de Montreal. He made his literary debut at the age of thirteen, when he wrote and produced a play, Ma vacation. During the forties he became friendly with the painter Paul-Emile Borduas, through whom he acquainted himself with Dadaism, Surrealism, Automatism, and the artists, journalists, and essayists who gravitated towards this important figure of the Montreal artistic community. These associations were to have a lasting effect on Gauvreau's aesthetic choices and his personal growth as a writer. He not only co-signed Borduas's famous manifesto, Refus global, but also articulated the theoretical aspects of Automatism for the general public. A constant defender of modern art after 1948, he never hesitated to engage in polemics, against both conservative art critics and ecclesiastical authorities (who looked upon non-figurative painting as an attack against the...