Born on January 3, 1934, in Montreal, Quebec, and passed on September 8, 2000, in Montreal, Quebec, Yves Gaucher is recognized as one of Canada's foremost abstract painters and a leader in Quebec's printmakers in the 1950s and 60s. In 1949 he attended his first art course at Sir George Williams College in Montreal, as he was expelled from his previous schooling. Upon meeting Arthur Lismer, Gaucher decided to pursue art seriously, and enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montreal in 1954 but was expelled again two years later. He then proceeded to study art on his own, and upon returning to the École, he developed the highly controversial and criticized technique of heavy embossing. Gaucher received the Order of Canada in 1980 and was named a member in 1981, while also being an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.