Clarence Gagnon
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| Clarence Gagnon | |
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 Bust of Clarence Gagnon by Galerie Clarence Gagnon on display in Quebec City. |
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| Birth name | Clarence Gagnon |
| Born | November 8, 1881 Montreal, Quebec |
| Died | January 5, 1942 (aged 60) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Field | painting |
| Movement | Modernity |
Clarence Gagnon (8 November 1881 – 5 January 1942) was a Québécois painter.
A native of Montreal, he studied at the Art Association of Montreal in 1897. Early in life, his mother had encouraged him to learn drawing and painting, but his father wanted him to become a businessman.
Desiring to improve his knowledge about art, he went to the Académie Julian, Paris, and studied under Jean-Paul Laurens from 1904 to 1905.
He then lived in Baie-Saint-Paul, where he produced many paintings depicting nature and the Canadian people. He invented a new kind of winter landscape that consisted of mountains, valleys, sharp contrasts, vivid colours, and sinuous lines. He became a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts in 1910.
Gagnon took a trip to Venice, Rouen, Saint-Malo and the Laurentians to paint landscapes. He illustrated the pages of the novel Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hemon. As well, he was the illustrator for Louis-Frédéric Rouquette in 1929 in the white silence. He lived in France from 1924 to 1936.
Gagnon opened modernity painting within Canada. He died in 1942. One of his disciples is the painter René Richard.
Galerie Clarence Gagnon has a bust in his memory located in the city of Quebec.
