Jean mcewen

Jean McEwen was born in Montreal in 1923 and passed away in the same city in 1999. Initially trained as a pharmacist, he soon devoted himself entirely to art, encouraged by Paul-Émile Borduas. In the 1950s, McEwen refined his mastery of painting and printmaking in both Paris and Montreal, drawing inspiration from the gestural abstraction of Jackson Pollock, the luminous colour fields of Mark Rothko, and the lyrical compositions of Jean-Paul Riopelle.

Over the decades, his abstract works characterized by layered, textured surfaces and vibrant interplay of colour—were exhibited in major cultural centres including Montreal, Toronto, New York, Paris, and London. His paintings and prints are held in significant public collections, such as the National Gallery of Canada, and have influenced generations of Canadian artists. In 1998, Jean McEwen was awarded the prestigious Prix Paul-Émile Borduas, a fitting recognition of his lifelong contribution to the visual arts.