A Towering Portrait of Quebec’s Past
May 1, 2011Step into the Southern Salon on level one of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and you’ll be stopped in your tracks. Towering above you is a three-storey-high (15-metre) mural vividly depicting the history of Quebec.
Commissioned in 1957 by the British American Oil Company for the foyer of its Montréal building, the elegant, highly stylized work was designed by Thor Hansen, an important figure in the history of Canadian design and folk art, and painted on canvas by distinguished Montréal artist Umberto Bruni.
The mural has found a permanent home in the Museum thanks to the generosity of Holcim Canada, a leading producer and supplier of products and services for the construction industry. When Holcim Canada sold the building that housed the mural in 2009, employees encouraged the company to donate the mural to the Museum. Holcim Canada went even further—it also generously donated $56,000 to help restore and install the mural at the Museum where it will continue to inspire and inform viewers for many generations to come.
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