Maud Lewis

Notes:

signed lower right

Provenance: Private collection, Calgary AB; Cowley Abbott (October 2019); Acquired directly from Maud Lewis and by descent through family to a private collection (Ontario).

Maud Kathleen Dowley (Lewis) was born in South Ohio, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Her father, Jack, was a craftsman and blacksmith. Her mother, Agnes, enjoyed artistic pursuits and encouraged Maud to paint from a young age. The young artist initially sold Christmas cards door-to-door for 5 cents apiece, then small paintings which were created using modest and found materials, mediums she favoured during most of her career. After losing both her parents within a short time, Maud moved to Digby to stay with an aunt, eventually marrying Everett Lewis (in 1938) and settling into their small, one-room house in Marshalltown. Other than one trip to Halifax, Maud Lewis spent her entire life within a one-hour drive of her birthplace, content to sit by her corner window painting.

Maud Lewis faced physical challenges from birth and from early on lived what appeared to be a sheltered and confined life. As the years progressed, arthritis stiffened her hands making painting and daily tasks even more difficult. Yet she expressed contentedness with her life: “As long as I’ve got a bit of brush in front of me, I’m all right.” (p. 29 “The Illuminated Live of Maud Lewis; Lance Woolaver; Nimbus Publishing/Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1996).

From humble beginnings, selling her paintings to neighbours and tourists, Maud Lewis’s recognition grew following a CBC “Telescope” broadcast in 1965. She began to gain national recognition and even international commissions. Today, she has become Canada’s most recognized folk artist and her works are prized by collectors – as much for their bright, charming and nostalgic depictions of Nova Scotia life, as for their reflection of a beloved artist’s inner vision.

Notes:

signed to the right

Notes:

signed lower right

Provenance: purchased directly from the artist by the aunt (Sally Porter) of the current consignor; private collection, Massachusetts, USA

Note: This lot is accompanied by a copy of a letter dated July 21, 1966 describing the purchase of four works by Maud Lewis, reading in part:

“That morning I went down to Maud Lewis’s. She didn’t have one picture on hand. The tourist from all over Canada and the United States come to buy the pictures. I ordered 4 and I told her to hide them after they were done. She said she’ll have a couple done by next Tuesday so we’re going down next Tuesday at 6:30 to pick them up. I thought I’d better order 4 at 7 dollars each, as later on the prices may go up with such a great demand for them. As I get them I’ll mail them to you, as they are about 12 in by 14 in. Later on I’d like to pick one up now and then for myself, as I’d like to get a few before she dies. She’s now about 82 years old. She’s really the Grandma Moses of Canada. I’ll try to take a picture of the shack her + her husband live in. It’s just unbelievable. She’s a tiny wizzled up old lady. Really remarkable. Some say her little paintings will be worth plenty. She paints the same as Grandma Moses. Crude paintings but very colourful. I’ll also take a picture of her + her husband next Tuesday so that we’ll have one of them + their surroundings.”

The scene is one from a series of similar images painted by Maud Lewis late in her life at this locale, along Digby Neck, just west of the Lewis House in Marshalltown, N.S.

Notes:

signed lower right
Provenance: This work was purchased directly from the artist by Lt. Col. Hugh Ross Kettyls DMD (deceased) and has passed, by descent, to the current owner.

Alan Deacon, recognized authority on the works of Maud Lewis, notes that the Covered Bridge in Winter serial images were painted primarily in the 1960s and suggests that this painting dates to early in this time frame:

“This work is fairly early I would suggest 1963 and is signed “Lewis”. Early versions show blue shadowing on the large conifers. On rare occasions Maud uses pink shadowing. [This] painting has pink shadowing making it very rare indeed.”

Notes:

signed

Notes:

signed