Maud’s Country

Maud’s Country: Landscapes of Nova Scotia Through the Eyes of Maud Lewis - Text by Lance Woolaver and Photography by Bob Brooks 

Maud Lewis stayed close to home: the rugged coastlines and gentle valleys of Nova Scotia’s southwest knew—but they provided ample material for her joyful creative spirit. Now revered as Canada’s foremost folk artist, Maud Lewis (1903-1970) transformed her world of poverty and deformity into a magical kingdom of happy children, contented animals, and a peaceful and charming rural environment.

Maud’s Country offers unique insight into the landscapes that inspired Lewis’s works and her own special way of representing them. The materials she had at hand were primitive—particleboard, crude brushes, marine or house paints. But these were all she needed to convey her message that happiness and harmony exist all around us, for those who have eyes to see.

About the Author

LANCE WOOLAVER, born in Digby, Nova Scotia, and educated at Acadia and Dalhousie Universities, has published a variety of works including The Outlaw League, The Metallic Sparrow, a 1992 Canadian Children's Book Centre Choice Selection, From Ben Loman to the Sea and Christmas With the Rural Mail, both illustrated with Maud Lewis images.  His play, World Without Shadows,  is about Maud and Everett Lewis.  Lance and his wife, Martha, live in Halifax.

About the Photographer

BOB BROOKS, MPA, (1927-1999) was one of Canada’s finest photojournalists.  He first met Maud Lewis in 1965 on a photo assignment for The Toronto Star Weekly.  His images appeared in Time, Newsweek, Life, Sport’s Illustrated, Maclean’s, National Geographic, and Paris Match.  A veteran of countless international assignments, Brooks received over seventy awards, and was an original member of Image Bank International in New York.  He also donated over 65,000 photographs to the Yarmouth County Museum and the Public Archives of Nova Scotia.

About Maud Lewis