Robert Leprohon

Canadian artist Robert Leprohon (1926–2018) was born in Montreal. His passion for art was sparked in 1944 after visiting Five Centuries of Dutch Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, leading him to abandon business studies and pursue painting. He became involved in Montreal’s postwar art scene, in connection with Refus Global and the Automatistes, and gained early recognition at the Museum’s 1947 Salon du printemps.

Formative summers in Port-au-Persil, Charlevoix, shaped his practice, where he met artists such as Goodridge Roberts and Paul Piché, as well as his future wife, painter Gisèle Leclerc. He settled in Quebec City in 1953.

Over a career spanning more than six decades, he worked as a commercial illustrator and later as Director of Public Relations at Les Presses de l’Université Laval before dedicating himself fully to painting.

A reserved figure, Leprohon remained largely outside the spotlight, with his work gaining wider recognition later in life, notably through a major exhibition in Vienna in 2018.