Winter Sleighing Scene with a Covered Bridge

Cowley Abbott, auction, Toronto, 19 July 2022, lot 18

Private Collection, Ontario

Winter sleigh scenes are some of the most complex compositions produced by Maud Lewis. The layered fore, mid and background create depth and guide the eye through the scene. We follow the trail of sleighs as they wind along the road creating movement through the picture. The subject is a popular serial image. Lewis rarely left the confines of her small home and the repetition of the scenes suggests the repetition of the everyday hustle and bustle of life in Digby County. As Maud’s friend and neighbour, Flora Amero would recollect of the area, “it was a small world but a pretty place”.