Pierre Théberge

Pierre Théberge (August 9, 1942 – October 5, 2018) was a museum director, curator and art historian, who was an advocate for Canadian art.

Career Théberge was born the seventh of nine children on August 9, 1942, in Saint-Éleuthère, Quebec. When he was a child, his family moved to Montreal, where in 1953, his older sister took him to the exhibition Five Centuries of Drawing at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

At the National Gallery, he organized landmark exhibitions such as The Heart of London (1968), the first show to recognize the artists active in London, Ontario, among them Greg Curnoe. In 1969, for the N.E. Thing Co., he organized an exhibition titled Look [at the N.E. Thing Company]. In 1971, for Joyce Wieland, he organized the National Gallery's first solo show featuring a woman, with quilting and lipstick as art materials. For Guido Molinari, he organized a retrospective and published his Writings on Art: 1954-1975 (both 1976). For Michael Snow, he organized a retrospective in 1978 with a major tour in Europe, making him the first Canadian artist to have a solo show at the Centre Georges Pompidou, in Paris. Théberge also was active in the purchase of their work as well as works by Ron Martin, Henry Saxe, Claude Tousignant, Charles Gagnon, Murray Favro and Gathie Falk, artists now the core of Canada's contemporary art establishment.

From 1979 to 1985, he served as chief curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. There, in 1980, he organized Tintin's Imaginary Museum, a first for Montreal, then in 1981 Greg Curnoe, a retrospective exhibition prepared for the National Gallery of Canada, and presented at the Montreal Museum. In the 1980s, he continued his commitment to Canadian art, co-curating shows such as Paul-Émile Borduas (1988) but he now began to assist curators in organizing shows such as Largillière and the Eighteenth-century Portrait (1981) with its loans from the Louvre, as well as co-curating populist shows which ranged widely over art history, with subjects from animated films (1982), to Pablo Picasso (1985). From 1986 to 1997, Théberge served as the director of the Montreal Museum. Between 1986 and 1991, Théberge and the Museum's Board oversaw the planning and construction of an ambitious new pavilion designed by Moshe Safdie, and launched a fund-raising campaign. In 1991, the opening of the new Jean-Noel Desmarais Pavilion more than doubled the space for the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, as well as the Museum's technical services. At the same time, Théberge continued to co-curate exhibitions ranging from Leonardo da Vinci (1987), to Japanese art (1989), and even fashion Pierre Cardin (1991). In 1992, he organized the unorthodox show Snoopy the Masterpiece, devoted to the comic strip Peanuts. Under Théberge's directorship, the Gallery also increased its holdings of First Nations and Inuit art, as well as initiating shows in these areas, such as a retrospective of Norval Morrisseau (2006). poor labour relations with staff; fighting within the gallery's management ranks; the other an anthology of his own writings (both 2017). Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal (2005); Officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2008)

Legacy Paris curator and art critic Jean Clair asserted: "Through his actions, his acquisitions, and his exhibitions, [Mr. Théberge] brought Canada into the contemporary era and brought it into the circuit of the big international museums". Théberge said of his career:

Sometimes I’ve fallen flat on my face, but I sincerely believe that I’ve contributed to the improvement of museum collections, and that I’ve expanded our collective view on the art of this place and of this world.

Personal life Pierre Théberge owned Airedale terriers, named Bobinette and Pistache, whom he brought to the National Gallery offices and for whom he had ID cards made.