Claude Picard depicting an Acadian farm.
The result of much hard work, the lands were so fertile that the Acadians prospered for almost 75 years.

Acadians sign oath of Allegiance by Claude Picard
By 1730, the majority of Acadians had signed an oath swearing allegiance to the British Crown, but they insisted they would not fight either the French or the native Indians.

This painting also by Claude Picard depicts the "Return" of the Acadians. Of course, Acadie was no more so home was wherever they decided to settle.

These paintings are the property of the Grand-Pre National Historic Site, Nova Scotia.

Who is Claude Picard?

Claude Picard was the recipient of the Miller Brittain for Excellence in Visusal Arts Award.

In his paintings, Old Acadia becomes vividly alive in the paintings of this Saint-Basile artist Claude Picard.

Born in Edmundston in 1932, Picard studied painting in Florence, Rome, and Paris in the late 1950s. From the beginning of his career, he felt drawn to explore historical Acadian and Biblical scenes as well as the beautiful countryside of his native northern New Brunswick. In 1986, Parks Canada commissioned him to create six murals commemorating the Expulsion of the Acadians for the church at Grand Pre. Thousands of tourists visiting this famous Nova Scotia site have admired Picard's meticulously rendered and moving cycle of paintings. Picard is also responsible for four detailed historical tableaux on display in the Citadelle Vauban at Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. He has painted frescos and murals for numerous Maritime museums. Most recently, the Musee acadien on Prince Edward Island invited him to create six frescos celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Acadia.

His paintings were on exhibition at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 1993. He received the Governor General's Medal in 1992 for his great contribution to the arts in Canada; in 1996, Picard received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick.