Which Quebec group pioneered modern abstract art in the 1950s?

In painting, Canada is probably best known for the Group of Seven. The group was founded in 1920. Its members created a style meant to capture the country's rough, wild landscapes. Tom Thomson painted The Jack Pine, one of the best-known Canadian images. On the West Coast, Emily Carr painted the forests and the Aboriginal artifacts she found there. Pictures like these still shape how people imagine Canada.

Quebec produced pioneers of modern art. Les Automatistes led the way into abstract painting during the 1950s. Jean-Paul Riopelle is the most famous of that circle. Earlier, Quebec's Louis-Philippe Hebert made his name carving figures from history. In the North, Kenojuak Ashevak opened the path for modern Inuit art. She worked in etchings, prints and soapstone sculpture. Taken together, these artists show how broad Canadian art has become.