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Rita Letendre ARCA OC QMG (born November 1, 1928 in Drummondville, Quebec) is a Canadian painter, muralist and printmaker closely associated with the Automatistes. She is an officer of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Governor General’s Award. == Early life == Rita Letendre was born the eldest of seven children to Anne-Marie Ledoux and Héliodore Letendre in Drummondville, Quebec. Despite Héliodore working as a mechanic and obtaining trucking contracts when possible, life for them was difficult and the family lived in poverty. Following a serious injury to one of her fingers in 1931, Rita was sent to live with her maternal grandmother in Saint-Francois-du-Lac. There, she thrived in a more relaxed atmosphere where she could play, read, pick flowers, take boat rides and more importantly, escape her turbulent home life. The planned visit was to last for a year but continued until she was old enough to attend school. At school, Rita was fascinated, this being her first opportunity to be stimulated intellectually.〔“Rita Letendre – Aux couleurs du jour”, Musée des Beaux-Arts 2003〕 In 1935, the family moved to Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham, near Drummondville, where integration to the community was difficult – here, she and her siblings (being of Abenaki heritage on their father’s side〔“Rita Letendre – Woman of Light”, Gaston Roberge, 1997〕) experienced the prejudices experienced by many First Nations children that were incessant and often violent. Although she learned to defend herself well, she ultimately preferred solitude. To escape the hate that surrounded her, she created her own happier worlds, drawn in her schoolbooks.〔“Rita Letendre – Aux couleurs du jour”, Musée des Beaux-Arts 2003〕 In 1941, the family moved back to Drummondville where she enrolled in her first year of high school but before she could return for a second year, the family moved to downtown Montreal〔“Rita Letendre – The Montreal Years”, Concordia Art Gallery 1989〕 and Rita had to stay home to take care of her five younger siblings while both of her parents took jobs for the war effort. This period of her life was a blessing in disguise; she continued drawing in the evenings, she was able to devour books as fast as she could get her hands on them, she discovered Opera on the radio which became a lifelong love, and she discovered famous master works of art in books at the library which she had heard about on the radio.〔“Rita Letendre – Aux couleurs du jour”, Musée des Beaux-Arts 2003〕 By 1946 she was desperate to escape her family duties; first taking a factory job, then working as a restaurant cashier, she left home to live with her boyfriend with whom she had a son, Jacques. It did not last and Rita separated from Jacques father – Jacques was eventually raised by his maternal Grandmother.〔“Rita Letendre – Woman of Light”, Gaston Roberge, 1997〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rita Letendre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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