Christmas With Maud Lewis

by Lance Woolaver, Maud Lewis (Illustrator), Bob Brooks (Photographer)

Maud Lewis has become one of Canada's favorite folk artists, and her buoyant winter pictures of nature, pets, farm animals, and people at work and play are among her most charming. Her hands were twisted with arthritis, but Maud earned her living by painting Christmas cards and pictures and selling them from her tiny gaily painted one room house beside the highway near Digby, Nova Scotia.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Christmas, History, Canadian Literature, Art, Inspirational

116 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas with Maud Lewis by Lance Woolaver and Bob Brooks is a beautiful 2017 Goose Lane hardcover
Edition that was gifted to me by my Secret Sender a couple years ago. Many times I have sit down and turned pages to look at photos of Maud Lewis and pictures she painted. I decided to start 2024 off by reading this treasured book. Thank you Allison Philpot.

Although Maud Lewis had hands twisted with rheumatoid arthritis, she earned her living by painting Christmas cards and pictures and selling them from her tiny, gaily painted one-room house beside the highway near Digby, Nova Scotia.
Her buoyant winter pictures of nature, pets, farm animals, and people at work and play are among her most charming.
5 stars

[Brooke Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of maud Lewis before so this library find was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed the simplistic but detailed art of hers, it spoke to me. Her story is quite interesting, but a bit jumbled in the authors telling. She's a person that I will be researching tho and plan to share her artwork with other artists and friends

[Tracee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really nice size and format for a gift.

All the Maud Lewis books I get my hands on have the same photos and text. I realize now it’s because they are newer versions of the original book or newer books based on the original authors’ material.

I have nothing but admiration for Maud Lewis and her creations. She really was a talented, lovely soul. She leaves us some beautiful art and she leaves me to wonder at her ability to create art against more odds than many of us face.

[Desiree Trott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about Maud Lewis growing up, and have always appreciated her folksy paintings of cats and tulips. I took my daughter to visit her restored house at the museum a few years ago.
I loved seeing more of her art in this older book and learning a bit more about her life.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Maud Lewis as well as her paintings hold such a fascination for me. I learned more things about her in this book...and saw other paintings for the first time. This book is a library book. I may want to buy it!!!

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My library has only three Maud Lewis books. Maud Lewis: Paintings for Sale and two eBooks, Maud Lewis 1, 2, 3 (a children’s picture book) and this book. This is the longest and the most text heavy of the three. I read this in mid-June, almost exactly a half year distant from Christmas. The author’s father bought a lot of her paintings directly from the artist and that collection is intact. This is a great biography because of the author knowing so much first and second hand and being a local. A lot of interesting details are included about Maud’s life, her neighborhood, the customs and traditions of that time and place. It’s a unique look because of the author’s personal relationship and inside information he haa.

I want to hate her husband but mostly I’m perplexed by him and sad for him as well. I do feel sad for Maud since she led a difficult life and it was much tougher than it had to be. The author quotes her though how if she had a paintbrush in front of her she was okay and she did get to make a lot of paintings, but it’s impossible for me not to see the misery she endured and consider that aspect of her life to be tragic.

Text heavy but there is her artwork and there are several wonderful photos. It’s odd because in the photos from when she was young I don’t see her deformity(ies) that were apparently so obvious even back then. In later photos her physical challenges are visible.

I like the paintings on her Christmas cards and her other artwork that is included in this book. Some of them have never been published elsewhere. Many of the paintings are lovely including one painted on a cake pan.

Once again for me I’m noticing I don’t like the images of the working animals, not because of their style but because the subject matter (and so much of the lifestyle in that time and place) doesn’t appeal to me as a vegan. The traditions followed for Christmas are interesting though and I enjoyed reading about them.

At the back of the book there is a Chronology list. Maud died relatively young after suffering years of deteriorating health.

Highly recommended for fans of art by Maud Lewis and Christmas books. This would make an excellent Christmas present for the right person.

I do want to read the book The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis. I’ll look for it. I guess there is a Canadian television show with the same title and I’ll look for that too.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟🌟 for Maud's artwork -- especially those pieces I'd never seen. I would love to give the book 5 but cannot. While I enjoyed the excerpts of Christmas spent in Digby during Maud's lifetime, it made me a bit sad knowing Maud did not spend her Christmases with Ev in the same way. I know this is a Christmas book and the author wants to keep things positive, but I thought the message very tone deaf as Maud was in pain for much of her life and suffered extreme abuse and neglect from her husband.

I understand that Lance Woolaver's goal is to share his family's "largest collection of Maud Lewis's artwork" with others. I also know that Maud was not paid fairly for her pieces and she and Ev were taken advantage of at a time when they desperately would have needed the income. I would have loved to read more about Maud and less about "how Maud's artwork brings to mind the author's memories of his Christmas." There is a very large ick factor to this book -- almost like Maud is being used all over again. Other than her artwork, there is not enough Maud and her life story in this collection. And that is the disappointment.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently watched a movie "Maudie" with Ethan Hawke and the wonderful actress, Sally Hawkins. I found this book online and it is truly a treasure. Maude Lewis was a Canadian folk artist who shared a tiny house with her husband Everett in the mid-20th century. The pictures of the paintings and the few photos were beautiful and evocative. Maud lived a simple life in rural Canada and suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis, but she was an incredibly happy and content woman. The descriptions here of a typical country Christmas are wonderful. I will cherish this little book and I think it will help to inspire some of my own Christmas poetry. The cover is pretty, red with a Christmas scene of a sleigh going down a snowy lane with trees. Another painting is on the back cover. I highly recommend it to fans of Christmas and folk art.

[Dave Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about Lewis going into this aside from the fact that she’s Canadian and her name had become synonymous with Christmas cards.

Lovely person, lovely story, and the perfect keepsake to celebrate her art

[Hugh Coverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book on Maud Lewis’ life and work, focusing especially on Christmas and the winter season.