A pioneer Canadian ethnographer and folklorist, Barbeau was born at Sainte-Marie (Beauce) and studied at the universities of Laval, Oxford and la Sorbonne. Over a lifetime at the National Museum of Canada he wrote hundreds of books and articles, both academic and popular. His studies of West Coast totem poles helped make these Indian artworks famous around the world and preserve some for posterity. His publications on, and collections of, the folk arts, crafts, songs and legends of Quebec aroused widespread interest and pride in the depth and distinctiveness of traditional French Canadian culture.