Arrow S.

Saint John, New Brunswick

Anglophone South Regional Heritage Fair

Maud Lewis: Canadian Folk Artist

This project is about Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis. Lewis is an artist from rural Nova Scotia who lived her entire life with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. This project explores her life and artwork.

 

 

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

One of the most interesting things I learned about my project was that Maud Lewis is not seen as the important artist she is. Many people say Lewis’s art is so simple that they could make it or her art looks like it’s made by a child. She struggled with rheumatoid arthritis her whole life, this made her hands swollen and painful to use.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

Some important lessons I have learned while working on my project would be the fact that Maud Lewis is not in the National Gallery of Art. This is because of her poor upbringing, the fact she did not attend a ‘fancy’ art school and her art is considered less compared to other artists who have been professionally trained in a school of art.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

My life today compared to Maud Lewis’s is very different. Maud would have to work on her art for many hours to make a living whereas all I have to do is go to school. We also get treated very differently, as Lewis was bullied so much that she had to drop out of school.