Claude A. Simard was born and spent his youth in Quebec City.
After graduating from the Ontario College of Art (1962-1966), he returned to Quebec City where he was employed at Simons stores as Head of Image and Store Design (1966-1973). Later Simard was president of his own communication design firm for eleven years. From 1984 to 2001 he was a professor at Laval University.
Claude A Simard designed eight stamps for Canada Post. He painted murals for the Imperial Oil Company and Parks Canada. His creations have been reproduced on several cards by Unicef and Hallmark. His paintings were featured on covers of Reader’s Digest and American Psychologist. His work has been the subject of several articles in print and web publications.
As a painter, Simard was elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1981. Since 1974 he presented more than 25 solo exhibitions in important galleries across Canada. He was the author of two books about his painting process.
Over the course of 40 years, Simard travelled and sketched through France, Italy and England. He works from his painting studios in Quebec City and Lake St-Joseph. Simard was a realist but the images he paints are created from imagination and memories. They never depict factual views of the subject matter.
Claude Simard passed away in 2014.