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Decorative arts and design (including graphic design and applied arts) is a broad category with numerous visual manifestations that form a rich and varied whole. It’s not defined by technique or material so much as by context—how, when, and where the project was designed, produced, distributed, and enjoyed.
Since the early 1940s, our Musée has been exhibiting and actively collecting traditional decorative arts, especially furniture and silverware. The collection has continued to grow, with many contributions from the provincial Concours artistiques.
These awards were created in 1944 to honour painters, carvers, and sculptors. From 1948 onwards, the awards were extended to include cabinetmakers, ceramicists, goldsmiths, weavers, glassblowers, and bookbinders. Winning works became the property of the Secretariat of the Province and subsequently donated to the Musée. These awards, which were held until 1965, allowed our Musée to add significant pieces to its collection.
Later, these pieces would be joined by major purchases directly from applied artists and the Centrale d’artisanat. Since 1984, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications has also been adding Prix du Québec medals to our numismatics collection, which features coins and medals. These awards are the government’s highest distinction for a career in science or culture.
In 2016, we took advantage of the Museum’s expansion and the opening of the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion to put contemporary applied arts and design in the spotlight with the Decorative Arts and Design permanent exhibition, the only one of its kind in the country.
Our unique Decorative Arts and Design collection consists of more than 5,000 objects. It covers nearly four centuries of creativity by artists ranging from François de Sasseville, François Baillargé, and Jacques Guillon to Micheline Beauchemin, François Houdé, Roseline Delisle, and Aurélie Guillaume.
Not only does it represent aesthetic and technical innovations and the variety of practices, it also bears witness to the waves of immigration that brought artists and designers who have contributed to the history of the discipline in Québec.
The collection features an array of striking objects: some decorative, some functional, some simply beautiful. Some are mass-produced items that can bring up memories, while others are prototypes or limited editions, and yet others are distinctive single objects that are sure to catch the eye.
Almost all disciplines are represented:
- Furniture
- Silverware
- Jewellery
- Ceramics
- Bookbinding
- Glassblowing
- Textiles
- Stained glass
- Enamels
- Numismatics
- Graphic design
- Design
Our collection also highlights the multidisciplinary nature of contemporary applied arts. For instance, many artists draw on architecture, interior design, and the visual arts in their practice. Finally, the Decorative Arts and Design collection lets us take a broader look at female artists throughout the history of Québec art, as many great artists have made their mark on the applied arts—and continue to do so—on an international scale.
In the spotlight
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Chaise Nylon
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Ming X
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Lumikiik
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Affiche «Adriana LeCouvreur de Francesco Cilea», de l'album L'Opéra par Vittorio
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Buffet néorococo
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Les Girouettes en folie - la nuit - le jour
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She Likes You Not
Curator
Isolda Gavidia
Isolda Gavidia holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Art History from Université Laval. She has been working in the museum field for nearly 20 years. She was formerly a Registrar at the MNBAQ, but has been Curator of Decorative Arts and Design since May 2023. In particular, she coordinated the Perspectives project (2021–2024) in conjunction with the Musée de la Civilisation. Previously, she was in charge of collections at the Musée des métiers d’arts du Québec (MUMAQ) for nearly eight years, where she worked on the Know-How project (2017), the Imaging Quebec Interiors exhibition and catalogue, as well as on various exhibitions, such as the renewal of the institution’s permanent exhibition in 2020.
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