Peter Archambault (1939-2015) was an American artist whose work explored the Franco-American experience through the medium: cartoons.
A 2018 exhibit, at the Museum L-A: "Beau-frog: The Art of Peter Archambault," displayed the artwork and political cartoons of Peter Archambault, a native of Madawaska, Maine. His artwork, featured monthly in a Franco-American publication at the University of Maine at Orono, Le F.A.R.O.G. Forum, provided rich political commentary, an investigation into immigration practices, and an exploration of the Franco-american culture in Maine and New England.
Archambault created a character called "Beau-frog" as a way to reclaim the common slur generally directed toward francophone and French heritage people during this era. The daily exploits of the frog truly illustrate the trials and tribulations of a minority figure coming to terms with their personal and cultural identity while surrounded by the pressures of an Anglophone majority. Despite this work being created for the Franco-American students on the Orono campus, the cultural exploration found in Archambault's cartoon drawings can speak to the experiences of the people in our community of Lewiston-Auburn, a place deeply affected by French-Canadian immigration since the 1850s.
