Artist. Born in Ste-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Arthabaska, Québec in 1878, he began carving with his pocket knife as a youth, produced woodcarvings so impressive that they gained the attention of the public. A Montreal newspaper, “La Presse,” organized a scholarship drive to raise money to send him to Paris, France to study art at the École des Beaux-Art in 1902. Laliberté is perhaps best known for his series of over 200 small sculptures on the theme of the Metiers du Québec in which he modeled the men and women who had lived in his native village, carefully depicting every craft and every skill. Almost every element of life in a rural community was recreated giving him the distinction of being known as the “sculptor of the rural tradition.” A prolific artist, he took part in numerous exhibitions between 1908 and 1942. He is considered today as one of Canada’s premiere artists, and his work has been honored with major retrospective exhibitions and he is the subject of study by art historians. (bio by: Iola)