Raymond Brousseau

Raymond Brousseau (11 February 1938 - 4 July 2021 ) was a Canadian art collector, dealer, and promoter of Inuit art. He was an early figure in the introduction of Inuit art to international audiences. He amassed a collection of over 2,600 pieces. He founded the Musée d'art Inuit Brousseau, the first museum in North America dedicated exclusively to Inuit art and culture, and his donations established the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec as a major repository of contemporary Inuit sculpture.

Commercial galleries (1974-1999) After opening Aux Multiples Collections, Brousseau subsequently opened galleries in 1986 and 1992, including the Galerie d'art Inuit Brousseau et Brousseau, specializing in Inuit art.

Major donations and recognition (2005 onwards) In 2005, Brousseau sold a portion of his collection to Hydro-Quebec for approximately 2.9 million dollars. He subsequently donated another portion to the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, which received 2,635 pieces of Inuit art from his collection, making it the museum's largest acquisition since 1933. The collection was documented in a comprehensive exhibition guide published by the museum in 2016.

In 2005, Brousseau was made a Knight of the French National Order of Merit by President Jacques Chirac. His 1971 experimental film All Stakes Are Down, No More Bets depicted contemporary life as a process of attrition, showing cars being sent to the wrecker's yard, buildings being demolished, and human existence as programmed obsolescence. His 1974 experimental fiction short film Sens devant derrière (Backwards) follows an ordinary man who wakes up in an inverted world where nothing is as it seems. His 1976 science-fiction fable Canadiens conformes explored the concept of difference through a story in which men become semi-robots through a photocopier, eventually liberating themselves from the work machine.

Filmography Year Title Director Writer

Points de suspension Dimension soleils

Présenter le pays aux gens d'ici et d'ailleurs All Stakes Are Down, No More Bets

Sens devant derrière