Albert Cloutier, was a fine Canadian artist of his generation. Prior to WWll and afterwards he earned a living as a graphic designer and as an illustrator. He was closely associated with Edwin Holgate and A.Y. Jackson as painting companions. For the New York World's Fair in 1939, Cloutier collaborated on an enormous mural in the Canadian Pavilion. During the war years Cloutier was Art Director for the Wartime Information Board and then an Official War Artist for the Royal Canadian Air Force with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

He was part of the Oxford Group led by the painters André Biéler and Edwin Holgate, who met regularly in a below-ground room at the Oxford Tavern at lunchtime. The group had roughly equal numbers of francophone and anglophone members. Other members of the group included artist Adrien Hébert and art critic Jean Chauvin.