Agnès Lefort was considered a key figure in the avant-garde in Montreal. A painter herself, she devoted herself to her art until the 1940s. Then, in 1950, she founded the Agnès Lefort Gallery located at 1504, rue Sherbrooke Ouest. This gallery was one of the most important exhibition addresses for several artists such as Léon Bellefleur, Paul-Émile Borduas and Marcella Maltais. According to the gallery owner, “the painter should not walk on the beaten track. On the contrary, it is his very genius. That it is debatable and discussed is proof of the fact that he dared to bring something new. »¹

Moreover, in the spring of 1960, Agnès Lefort devoted an exhibition to the works of the young painter Marcella Maltais. Since the 1950s, Maltais has caused a sensation in the Montreal artistic sphere. The criticism is excellent and compares his research to that of the painters Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle. She will devote great energy to her non-figurative works.

This work was presented during this exhibition at Agnès Lefort in April 1960.

1 La patrie du dimanche, 1961-03-19, Collections de BAnQ. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4072324?docpos=2