03 Classic Marine Paintings by Marc-Aurèle Fortin, William James GlackensRichard Hayley Lever, with Footnotes, #53

The Port of Montreal is a port and transshipment point on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On the Saint Lawrence Seaway 1,600 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean, it is on the shortest direct route from Europe and the Mediterranean to North America. It is an international container port that services Toronto and the rest of Central Canada, the U.S. Midwest, and the U.S. Northeast.

The port originated in the historic area now known as the Old Port of Montreal. Over the years, the Port of Montreal expanded eastward along the waterfront. The site is now a cultural gem and a major tourist attraction, having been enhanced with museums, restaurants, shops and water-related activities. More on the port of Montreal

Marc-Aurèle Fortin (March 14, 1888 – March 2, 1970) was a Québécois painter, born in 1888 in Ste-Rose, Quebec. He studied art in Montreal and worked at the Montreal Post Office, and at an Edmonton bank. He studied art abroad. He was known for painting watercolour landscapes of the St. Lawrence Valley. He travelled around the St. Lawrence Valley by bicycle. Fortin believed that “Canadian artists should take their inspiration from the countryside and progress towards a national art… We should excel in landscapes, exactly as the French do”.

He was part of the first Atelier exhibition at Henry Morgan Galleries in April 1932 together with Atelier founder John Goodwin Lyman, André Biéler, and Edwin Holgate. Fortin was exhibited by Galerie L’Art français from the 1940s.

His works are displayed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He died in 1970. More Marc-Aurèle Fortin