Work of N.S folk artists generate big bids at auctions — and it’s not just Maud Lewis paintings

A picture of ii joseph black cats by a Nova Scotian with the endure nominate of Lewis recently sold for around $18,000 at auction.

But it wasn't a Maud Lewis painting — it was a piece by her husband, Everett Lewis.

While Maud Lewis paintings routinely sell for tens of thousands of dollars, rising interest in some other Nova Scotian folk artists means their work is now selling for thousands of dollars.

That includes Everett Lewis, who traditionally has been better known for forging his wife's work than his originals, which bear an uncanny resemblance to Maud's style.

At a recent auction in Saint John, a painting by Everett Lewis that was expected to sell for around $4,500 ended up going for $18,400.

"He's more infamous than famous. People have mixed reactions and certainly his name elicits a great deal of controversy," said Ethan Miller, the CEO of Miller & Miller, a New Hamburg, Ont., auction house.

"But, at the end of the day, a lot of folk art collectors would agree that his work has a certain charm. In its own right, it is or it seems to be from the heart."

Miller isn't surprised by how much the Everett Lewis painting sold for. In fact, he said it's a sign of the growing interest in Nova Scotian and Canadian folk art.

At a recent Miller & Miller auction, a painting by Nova Scotian Joe Norris that was expected to sell for between $9,000 and $12,000 sold for $23,600.

Norris was a fisherman who turned to painting after a heart attack, said Miller.

"Folk art is as much about the artists as it is about the art," said Miller, who sold another Morris painting for $30,680 in February 2024.

There's no one single reason behind the spike in value for some Nova Scotia folk art, but Miller pegs the turning point as 2022 when a Maud Lewis painting that was once traded for a grilled cheese sandwich sold for $350,000 at auction.

He said that sale drew more attention to folk art, but the timing also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In an uncertain world and in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty, these paintings most definitely bring a certain kind of light, a certain kind of optimism and a certain kind of honesty to the world," said Miller.

Sarah Jones is the co-owner and curator of Jones Auction House in Saint John, the auction house that recently sold the Everett Lewis painting for $18,400. She believes the rising interest in folk art is being driven by a few things.

Jones said that when there are fluctuations in financial markets or world turmoil, art is seen as a stable investment.

Another is that as the work of one artist attracts a lot of attention — such as Maud Lewis — it has a spillover effect.

Jones said the auction with the $18,400 Everett Lewis painting also saw artwork by other Atlantic Canadian artists sell for a lot more than expected.

This included a watercolour by New Brunswick artist David McKay that sold for $24,150, despite having an estimated selling value of between $1,200 and $1,500. A pastel by Newfoundland artist Mary Pratt sold for $9,200, compared to the estimate of $3,000 to $5,000.

"Certainly, there's been artists in Atlantic Canada, like, say, Alex Colville or the Pratts [Christopher and Mary], who have had the recognition they deserve, but there are lots of other artists as well who deserve our attention and praise," said Jones.

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