Members of our Association will likely recognize the two paintings reproduced on our home page by the renowned Canadian artist Alfred Pellan (1906–1988). Although they were never formally given a title, these two murals are known as Canada East and Canada West. For decades, they greeted visitors the Lester Pearson Building in Ottawa.

Painted in 1942–43, these paintings were originally commissioned for a reception room in the Canadian Embassy in Rio de Janeiro by Canada’s first Ambassador to Brazil, Jean Désy. They depict colourful symbols of Canada floating against a vibrant background, in a style reminiscent of Latin American muralism. 

Pellan was a leading figure in Quebec’s artistic life for decades. His avant-garde work, influenced by Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism, often generated controversy with conservative authorities in his home province. The National Gallery of Canada purchased one of his first paintings when he was just seventeen, and he was appointed to the Order of Canada in its inaugural year in 1967. The electoral district of Alfred-Pellan in Laval, Quebec, is named in his honour.

Canada East and Canada West were installed in the newly-opened Pearson Building in 1973, where they hung for many years above the reception desk. In 2011, they were removed and replaced by a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in advance of her Diamond Jubilee. The paintings were returned to their place over the reception desk in 2015 where they remained until the Pearson Building lobby was closed for renovations in 2020.

Below is a portrait of Pellan in his studio, taken in 1946, as well as a photograph of him at work on these murals in 1942. For more information about Pellan’s life and work, including these two paintings, see this essay by Maria Rosa Lehman on the website of the Art Canada Institute. We are grateful to the Global Affairs Visual Art Collection for their assistance in obtaining the rights to reproduce these images.