Everett Lewis (1893 – 1979) (1)

A painter and husband of the famous Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis (m. 1938); Everett Lewis was born in Plympton, Digby County, Nova Scotia and was murdered by a burglar at his home in Marshalltown, Digby County, Nova Scotia on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1979. Everett Lewis’s works are in at least three museum collections. His and his wife’s life have been the subjects of several books as well as the 1996 play World Without Shadows, the 1998 TV documentary The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis and the 2016 movie Maudie. The small house that they lived and worked in and he was killed in is a permanent exhibit at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

His medium was acrylic paint. His subjects were animals, landscapes and maritime scenes. His style could be described as Folk Art*, Naive Art* or Outsider Art*.The askART auction results have several excellent illustrations of his work.

Like his wife, he was a self-taught artist. His previous occupations were farm laborer, fish peddler and night watchman. His only previous artistic activities were to assist his wife by cutting out cardboard templates for her to use in her paintings. He began painting out of economic necessity after her death in 1970. His first paintings were forgeries* of her works signed with her name. Later he attained his own prominence as an artist using his own name.

His works were featured in the exhibition “Folk Art of Nova Scotia” shown at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax and touring in 1976 and 1977.

According to the Canadian Heritage Information Network*, his works are in the permanent collections of the Admiral Digby Museum (Digby, Nova Scotia), the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax), and the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Quebec).

Footnote:

(1) Please note: While researching this artist, we noticed another birth year – 1897 and another death year – 1980. They are used independently (e.g. not together) by some other sources. We are using the life dates 1893 – 1979 because they are carved into Everett’s and Maud’s family tombstone at North Range Cemetery, North Range, Digby County, Nova Scotia. Source: Find A Grave website. – M.D. Silverbrooke


Sources – Books and Catalogues:

Maud Lewis: The Heart on the Door (2016), by Lance Gerard Woolaver; Spencer Books, Halifax, Nova Scotia (491 pgs., B&W)

Biographical Index of Artists in Canada (2003), by Evelyn de Rostaing McMann (see askART Publications)

The Painted House of Maud Lewis: Conserving a Folk Art Treasure (2001), by Laurie Hamilton; Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton, New Brunswick (118 pgs., color)

The Collector's Dictionary of Candian Artists at Auction (2001), by Anthony R. Westbridge and Diana L. Bodnar (see askART Publications)

An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999), by Blake McKendry; Published by J. McKendry, Kingston, Ontario (297 pgs., B&W)

A to Z of Canadian Art: artists & art terms (1997), by Blake McKendry; Published by B. McKendry, Kingston, Ontario (242 pgs., text)

Maud Lewis World Without Shadows (1996), by Lance Woolaver; Stage Hand Publishers, La Have, Nova Scotia (148 pgs., a stage play)

The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis (1996), by Lance Woolaver and Bob Brooks; Nimbus Publishing / Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax (91 pgs., color)

A Dictionary of Folk Artists in Canada from the 17th Century to the Present (1988), by Blake McKendry; Published by Blake McKendry, Elginburg, Ontario (287 pgs., text only)

A Compendium of Canadian Folk Artists (1985), by Terry Kobayashi and Michael Bird; Boston Mills Press, Erin, Ontario (241 pgs., B&W)

Folk Art of Nova Scotia: A travelling exhibition of 20th century folk art of Nova Scotia (1976), by Marie Elwood; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax (59 pgs., color)

Sources – Websites:

Canadian Heritage Information Network*

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

National Film Board of Canada

Black Sheep Gallery

Geni My Heritage Company

Find A Grave

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com. Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx

Written and contributed to askART by M.D. Silverbrooke.