Nelson SuretteNelson Surette was a self-taught artist who painted from an early age. He grew up and lived most of his life in and near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Considered reclusive and enigmatic, the artist applied oil directly to the board using his fingers to create the work, the brush only for last touch effects. His technique gave his work a creativity that appears wedded to the turmoil of the sea, the hardship of the people and the heritage of his ancestors - the Acadians. His expressive portrayal of the life and times of Nova Scotia's people in the earlier years has earned him a unique place in Canadian art. His paintings hang in private and public collections worldwide, including the governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Parks Canada, Dupont and Imperial Oil. He has had solo exhibitions at the universities of St. Francis Xavier, Ste-Anne, St. Thomas and Toronto University College. For 2003 and 2004 in conjunction with the 400th anniversary celebrations of French settlement in North America the work of Nelson Surette was the featured exhibition at Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nelson Surette died in 2004 at the age of 84. |