First Meal

• Main Author: LaPalme, Robert
• Other Authors: Robert LaPalme (Canadian artist, 1908-1997)
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1956
• Subjects: historical; human figure; France > Colonies > America; Native North Americans; First Nations; eating; feasting; Twentieth century; Canada
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/171768

Center section, the First Nations people (left) and the French (right) meet over a cooking pot on a tripod with fish smoking; Robert LaPalme (born Joseph-Anatole-Thomas-Robert Gaboriau) was one of the most famous Quebec caricaturists; his work appeared in nearly every important French newspaper in Canada, and he illustrated numerous books. He was also artistic director for the metro (subway), where he set a policy that favored representational art telling the history of Montreal, one of the first metro networks to include public art throughout the network. The murals for the Botanical Garden Restaurant follow that idea; here, a depiction of a first meal shared between the French and the First Nations peoples. The restaurant was renovated in 2013, but preserved the Art Deco layout and used colors found in the mural. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 5/7/2014)