About Cory

Artist Cory Trépanier was an oil painter, explorer, and filmmaker, with a passion for capturing Canada’s incredible wilderness on canvas. 

Close interaction with his subject through extensive exploration transforms his canvases into compelling paintings. Viewers are faced with more than a representation of a place and time; they are transported there through the artist’s unique vision.

Cory’s painting expeditions grew in grandeur throughout his life, from the hills of Caledon to the shores of Lake Superior with his young and adventurous family, and eventually to the expansive Canadian North, resulting in five documentaries: A Painter’s Odyssey, Into the Arctic, Into the Arctic II, TrueWild: Kluane, and his fifth film, Into the Arctic: Awakening, which had its first public screening in Monaco before Prince Albert II. Following in the footsteps of explorers such as the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, Cory dared to capture some of the most wild and changing places on the planet and graciously shared them with the rest of the world through his art and films.

In 2017 the INTO THE ARCTIC Exhibition Tour, featuring over 50 oil paintings, travelled to the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C, across North America, and overseas to Monaco at the HSH Prince Albert II’s Oceanographic Museum. “Great Glacier’ the 15 foot wide centrepiece of the collection, is one of the largest Arctic landscape paintings in Canada’s history. In 2019, Cory partnered with Canadian Geographic Education to create the INTO THE ARCTIC Film Trilogy K-12 teachers guide. Through it, Cory’s films are being made available to educators and students nationwide and beyond for free. Seven modules educate and engage students on geography, environmental and social sciences, humanities, Indigenous culture, history, survival, and the arts.

In his twilight days, Cory held a launch for his book, INTO THE ARCTIC: Painting Canada’s Changing North. This coffee table book features almost 100 Arctic paintings, sketches and stories. Moreover, the book features a forward by Senator Pat Bovey; and contribution from Arctic friend and outfitter Billy Arnaquq; the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell; Wade Davis; Robert Bateman; John Geiger; Mauri Pelto and includes a bio and essay by Todd Wilkinson. Cory was also an esteemed fellow of the Explorer's Club and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. 

After a valiant battle with cancer, on the afternoon of November 5th, 2021, Cory passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family. Cory’s adventurous and generous spirit shone brightly, and his legacy will forever continue in the hearts of all who knew him and his work. Cory was and always will be, our North Star.