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Artists at Work

Black and white photograph of the artist Suzanne Guité working on a drawing with her husband as model, artist Alberto Tommi. The couple is sitting at the foot of a tree on top of a mountain. Behind them is a magnificent landscape at the bottom of the mountain the village of Percé as well as Percé Rock.

Photograph

Suzanne Guité at Work on a drawing with her husband as model, artist Alberto Tommi overlooking Percé, 1950

Moser, Lida

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

P728,S1,D1,P13-9

Even when on vacation, artists are rarely without a brush or a sketchbook. Some artists choose to live where others vacation. Suzanne Guité grew up in Percé and returned there after attending art school in Chicago, Florence and Mexico City. Mostly known for her sculpture, Guité also painted murals and made tapestries. She was so enamoured of Percé that she lived there year-round with her husband, artist Alberto Tommi. Together they opened one of the first artist-run centres in the province, the Centre d’art de Percé, providing a venue for artists from the Gaspésie to exhibit and sell their work.

On occasion, she would escape to do her own work. The vantage from the Pic de l’Aurore overlooking the Rocher Percé is one of the great vistas of the world and one of the favourite positions to photograph the village and its surroundings. It is also a favourite perch for artists.