#GlenbowFromHome

From the irresistible "Grumpy Cat" to the colourful harbour scenes, the paintings of Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis have a unique and enduring appeal. In this conversation, Sarah Milroy (Chief Curator at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection), Sarah Fillmore (Chief Curator at the Art Gallery Nova Scotia) and Haema Sivanesan (Chief Curator at Glenbow) try to define what it is about Maud's work that sparks joy in so many people.
Maud Lewis is on view at Glenbow until August 29, 2021: www.glenbow.or...
The exhibition was developed and toured by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and curated by Sarah Milroy
Thumbnail artwork: Maud Lewis (1903-1970), Black and White Cat (detail), 1962, Collection of CFFI Ventures Inc., as collected by John Risley
Music track by Julian Winter, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License: freemusicarchi...

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She was deeply moving. What I find extraordinary is that she retained her innocence, her child-like purity in the face of great hardship. I'm sure she'd been mocked and often ill-treated. She had to endure lifelong arthritis and poverty. Yet there are no shadows, no intimations of darkness in her paintings. And I don't sense repression or denial on her part. She was simply pure, a beautiful soul, without an iota of rancor or bitterness. How many people do you know who, not even suffering half her hardships, are still embittered or angry or carry some residue of resentment? I'm certainly one of them. In fact, a lot could be going for some of them, and yet they're still irked by something or other.
Not only do Maude's paintings deserve worldwide recognition, but I think some church in Canada should also declare her a saint. How about "St. Maude of Nova Scotia"? I'm serious. Had she been born in India, say, she almost certainly would have been accorded a similar honor.