Gérard DuBois

Born in France in 1968, Gérard DuBois studied graphic arts in Paris for five years. After graduating in 1989, he crossed the Atlantic to work as a graphic design consultant for various Acadian magazines and newspapers (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia) through the Coopération program. 

In 1991, he moved to Montréal and began working as an illustrator for the press and publishing industry. His clients include The New York Times (for which he wrote the weekly “Gray Matter” column for nearly two years), The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine (for which he illustrated a column for two years), GQ, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Le Monde, XXI, Le Nouvel Obs, Télérama, The Guardian, Playboy, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, Harper’s, The Atlantic, L’actualité, Canada Post, Nike, Google, Isetan Department Store, Tim Robbins’ Actor’s Gang, Théâtre des Célestins, Gallimard, Random House, Le Seuil, Nathan, Actes Sud, Les Allusifs, Le Rouergue, Alto, Fides, La courte échelle, Comme des géants, The Folio Society, and numerous agencies, including Paprika, BBDO, Sidlee, Boss, Cossette, Publicis and Pentagram.

Over the past 30 years he has received many prestigious distinctions for both his editorial work and his books. In North America, he is the recipient of the prestigious Hamilton King Award for lifetime achievement, presented by the Society of Illustrators in New York. Since 1965, only two other Canadians have received this distinction. His images have also earned him four gold medals from the same century-old institution.

His books have earned him several awards, including the 2022 Bologna Ragazzi Award (Fiction category) and the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award, for Whose Clouds? In 2021, he won the New York Times/New York Public Library award for Best Illustrated Book and the inaugural Harry Black Award, for Au-delà de la forêt. 

In April 2018, Canada Post unveiled a Gérard DuBois stamp at the Ontario College of Art, in recognition of the excellence of his work, as part of a series of five stamps entitled “Great Canadian Illustrators.” In July 2022, he received the Illustrator of the Year award from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, where seven of his illustrations are now part of the collection. His illustrations have been the subject of articles in Communication Arts, Print, L’actualité and Grafika, as well as interviews on Radio-Canada, Tou.tv and TV5.

His images have been exhibited in Canada (Montreal, Toronto), the United States (Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York), France (Paris) and Italy. His acrylics are in a number of private collections, including those of Rolling Stone magazine, author Stephen King, director Guillermo Del Toro (one of DuBois’ works was included in the travelling exhibition of Del Toro’s collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario) and the Musée de l’Illustration Jeunesse de Moulins. 

For the past 14 years, he has also been a lecturer in the design department of the Université du Québec à Montréal, where he teaches illustration from first to third year. He is a member of the Society of Illustrators and Illustration Québec.