March Day, Baie St Paul, QC

Lorne Holland Bouchard was born in Montreal on March 19, 1913. He began drawing at age seven while in Douglastown, Gaspé, and later studied at the Barnes School of Art under Wilfred M. Barnes and at the École des beaux-arts in Montreal from 1928 to 1930. At just 16 years of age, Bouchard exhibited with the Royal Canadian Academy at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, an early indication of his exceptional talent.

Bouchard's early artistic development was influenced significantly by prominent Canadian painters Clarence Gagnon and Maurice Cullen, who recognized and encouraged his abilities. While developing his artistic career, Bouchard supported himself as a commercial artist, working as a label designer at the Dennison Manufacturing Company for 11 years and as an illustrator for firms including Rapid Grip and Batten Limited and Bomac Limited. In 1952, he transitioned to freelance illustration work, creating magazine covers and executing commissions for corporate clients such as Seagrams and Nordair.

Bouchard was particularly drawn to the landscapes of Northern Quebec, which he first visited in 1928, as well as other remote and wild regions across Canada. His painting expeditions took him to various locations including the Laurentians, the Gaspé Peninsula, British Columbia, and as far north as the Arctic. A notable journey in 1962, documented in Weekend Magazine, saw him travel by riverboat from Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean with his wife and the Molsons, carrying 300 pounds of sketching equipment.

Working primarily outdoors, Bouchard was known for his quick painting style that captured atmospheric light effects, often completing works in a single sitting. His distinctive style combined elements of realism and impressionism. He experimented with various mediums including oil, watercolor, charcoal, casein, polymer, resins, tempera, and pen and ink. Bouchard was a member of the Montreal Art Association and the Royal Canadian Academy of Artists. His works are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He died in Montreal at the age of 65.