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Folk Artist Maud Lewis 1903-1970, Nova Scotia, Canada. One of my favorite Painters.

Folk Artist Maud Lewis 1903-1970, Nova Scotia, Canada. One of my favorite Painters.

Accessible Travel

Maud Lewis. Her strong spirit and kindness toward life touched me deeply when I saw the film about her life. There is a childish positive attitude and strong will to overcome any trouble or physical impediment.

Written by Accessible Travel Americas

1 min read


Maud Lewis. Her strong spirit and kindness toward life touched me deeply when I saw the film about her life. There is a childish positive attitude and strong will to overcome any trouble or physical impediment.
Born in rural Nova Scotia in 1903, Lewis suffered from a series of birth defects that left her fingers painfully deformed, her shoulders hunched and her chin pressed into her chest. She spent most of her adult life as a virtual recluse in a cramped one-room house that had no running water or electricity. For more than three decades, the diminutive Lewis eked out a living rendering colorful oil paintings on the most primitive of surfaces — including particleboard, cardboard and wallpaper — which she sold for a few dollars each. At the age of 67, Lewis — who had suffered lung damage due to constant exposure to paint fumes and wood smoke — contracted pneumonia and died in hospital. She was buried in a child’s coffin and laid to rest in a pauper’s grave.

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