"I paint by instinct without philosophical or pictorial reasoning. It's a world I invent poetically and in exaltation."

Leon Bellefleur was born in Montreal in 1910 and studied at the Ecole des beaux-arts there. In the early 1940s, he became acquainted with artists associated with Paul-Emile Borduas and Alfred Pellan, whose explorations of Surrealist theories promoted an approach to the art inspired by dreams and the subconcious.

Bellefleur admired the work of Swiss artist Paul Klee, whose simplified and whimsical compositions reflected his own enthusiasm for children's art. In it, Bellefleur saw a freshness, spontaniety of expression, and honesty in the work. "Only those who have retained or rediscovered the ability to dream, to play, can hope to make their life a great and splendid thing."

Several of his paintings and prints are in the National Gallery of Canada.

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