The Pink House

The house located at 186 Principale street catches our eye with its candy-pink exterior, a colour it already displayed nearly a hundred years ago. Built around 1850, it has undergone numerous transformations, each reflecting its commercial function. But its square log construction and its late-19th-century roof, with its typical rolled-up slats, remind us of its long history. Among its owners were Sylvestre Beauchamp in 1880, François Gareau in 1887, Joseph Ouellette in 1893, Damasse Maillé in 1897 and, a year later, François-Xavier Clouthier, mayor of Saint-Sauveur from 1885 to 1921. 

Old photographic records reveal that painter André Biéler and his wife Jeannette 
Meunier lived in the house from 1931 to 1933. These very special tenants left an artistic flair that made the Pink House an original attraction in Saint-Sauveur for several decades.

At the time, the house was owned by one of André's brothers, Jacques Biéler, a young engineer, bachelor and member of McGill University's Red Birds ski club. By 1931, André and Jeannette stayed there for extended periods of time, as the fresh mountain air was like a balm for André's lungs, which had been exposed to mustard gas during the First World War. The Laurentians was well known to the Biélers. In 1912, three years after their arrival from Switzerland, their father Charles Biéler acquired a farm in Lac-des-Seize-Îles called “la Clairière”, which was their summer residence for many years.

André and Jeannette in the pink house in 1931.

Jeannette Meunier was an interior decorator who, in 1928, started organizing an annual exhibition of Canadian painters for the Eaton's store in downtown Montreal.

Archives A.B. in André Biéler an artist Life and Time, by Frances K. Smith, Ed. Philippe Baylaucq, 2006.

It was on this occasion that she met André Biéler. They married in 1931 and moved into a studio on Peel Street. There, they rubbed shoulders with ethnologist Marius Barbeau and painters such as Edwin Holgate, A. Y. Jackson, John Lyman, Robert Pilot and Elizabeth Frost.

During the 1930s, many artists discovered the Laurentians and regularly came to draw inspiration from its landscapes. Some lived or had studios here: Edwin Holgate in Tremblant, Anne Savage at Wonish Lake and John Lyman in Saint-Jovite which all became a home base for their friends. As you can see from this photograph, the interior of the pink house offers a simple and authentic decor, an environment that is conducive to creativity, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

André Biéler and his wife Jeannette working on the fresco “Saint Christophe et le Christ enfant” on the facade of the pink house. 

Photo by Hazen Sise, 1931. National Archives of Canada.

In 1931, André Biéler undertook the creation of an authentic fresco on the facade of his pink house, inviting architect Hazen Sise and painter George Holt to Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts to document the various stages of the project. Using an ancient technique, he prepared the surface, in this case the wall of the house, with increasingly fine layers of mortar. He then transferred the drawing using a method known as “spolvero”, which consists of scale drawing a sketch onto cardboard by piercing multiple small holes along the outline of the drawing. The cardboard is then placed on the surface and rubbed with a pad containing lampblack or charcoal dust, revealing the stippling on the mortar. 

Biéler was introduced to this technique by his uncle Ernest Biéler (1863-1948), a Swiss painter, who invited him to paint a monumental fresco on the pediment of the town hall in Le Locle, Canton of Neuchâtel. The fresco is still there today and the Loclois even celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022.

Young skiers in front of the fresco on the pink house, January 25, 1942. Stopping in front of the fresco of Saint Christopher had quickly become a ritual for skiers.

Photo: BAnQ, Fonds Conrad Poirier

Patron saint of travelers and protector against accidents, illnesses and natural disasters, Christopher has been the object of popular devotion since the fifth century. To reinforce this belief, the painter wrote on his fresco, “Whoever sees this image shall not faint or fall today”.

The legend of Saint Christopher tells the story of a large man, a giant, who helped carry the Christ-Child across a river. His name, Christophe, means “carrier of Christ”.

André Biéler's work reflected the rural and village life of his time.

Photo: André Biéler - La criée à la sortie de Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, 1930. Oil on wood 25,6 x 32,9 cm, National Gallery of Canada.

Quebec artists were eager to see a change in the still highly conservative society of the 1930s, particularly within the art world. The creation of the Contemporary Art Society by painter John Lyman in 1939 was a breath of fresh air for the young artists, critics and gallery owners who gathered around the exhibitions organized by the association.

Picture: The pink house around 1967, by Madeleine Gagné.

In 1941, André Biéler also contributed to the evolution of Canadian art by organizing the Canadian Artists' Conference at Queen's University in Kingston. New artistic techniques were discussed, as well as fundamental issues such as the artist's place in the world. This first national gathering marked the beginning of the Federation of Canadian Artists, whose regional branches supported many artists.

Biéler began teaching at Queen's University's Agnès Etherington Art Centre in 1936, but occasionally returned to the Laurentians to paint. The pink house passed into other hands, and over the years had many owners. His fresco deteriorated over time and in 1991 was “retouched” with oil and acrylic. In its place, we now find a bay window that accommodates the house's current commercial function.