The team of colourfully decorated oxen is one of the few serial motifs spanning three decades of Maud Lewis’ practice. Painting one of her most requested subjects, the artist depicts a pair of yoked oxen pulling a logging sled in the foreground of a hilly, snow-covered landscape dotted with trees. Lending her painterly touch to the animals’ ornate halters and bells, Lewis renders a scene familiar to rural Nova Scotia, where these livestock were integral to the agricultural development of the region. Lewis painted from memory and imagination, as well as from popular sources; images of ox teams were common in print representations of Nova Scotia. Whether hauling hay and lumber or grazing leisurely in their pastures, Lewis’ painted animals charm in all seasons.
Maud Lewis - Pair of Oxen with Sled of Logs | Cowley Abbott
