Serge Vaisman died suddenly on his birthday, January 16, 2025. Fluent in English, French and Spanish, he was the founder and owner of Art 45, one of Canada’s longest-running galleries, which he established in Montreal in 1976.

Beloved and respected, admired and appreciated, Serge lived life on his own terms with a finely tuned moral compass. Anyone who came into his orbit benefitted from his kindness, generosity, encyclopedic memory and excellent advice. He was loyal to his friends and his artists and an inspiring mentor to numerous young dealers, artists, and curators. He was elegant, graceful, funny and in a word, cool.

Serge was born in Algiers on January 16, 1945 to Michel Vaisman and Jeanne Colonna. He grew up in Buenos Aires, and from the age of 14 in the United States, where he did his graduate work at University of Michigan. Drafted into the US army even though he was a French citizen, he walked out and came to Canada the day before he was to be sent to Vietnam. He finished his education at McGill.

He leaves behind his beloved partner of 36 years, Barbara Steinman, brother-in-law Robert Steinman (Bernadette Couturier), nephews Raphael Steinman (Marie Brossard-Racine) and Alexis Steinman (Geneviève Goulet) and, in Corsica, cousins and godchildren (Julie and Pierre Garidacci), along with innumerable friends and colleagues in many countries.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.