|Devangana Sharma| The Atlantic Muse| Book Review 2024-06-29|
Hello fellow readers!
Today I have a review for you and it’s all about Nova Scotia’s favourite artist Maud Lewis—the dazzling woman who has been considered to shape Nova Scotia’s art throughout her lifetime.
Our Maud- The Life, Art, and Legacy of Maud Lewis
Author: Ray Cronin- Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Category: Non-fiction, art, Maud Lewis, Atlantic Canada heritage
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing
Authored by Ray Cronin, Our Maud: The Life, Art and Legacy of Maud Lewis explores Maud’s life and her overall impact in Nova Scotia through three sections: Life, Art, and Legacy. Some angles that the book takes is how Maud Lewis became a role model for youth with juvenile arthritis, her essential role in the establishment of the largest museum in Atlantic Canada, her hit feature film Maudie starring Sally Hawkins
and Ethan Hawke- the result of the globally shared story of Maud. Yes, yes, yes- her story went global! This book includes her popularity, and the preservation of her artwork, including how Maud’s art style influenced the Nova Scotia folk art renaissance.
Life:
“I’m contented here. I ain’t much for travel anyway. Contended. Right here in this chair. As long as I’ve got a brush in front of me I’m alright.”- p.g 11
Maud Lewis was and is to this date a significant artist in Atlantic Canada even after her passing. This instilled in me great expectations for the book as I hoped that it would capture her story successfully. As a result, it did succeed- very well in fact. The balance between information in each section had been mastered perfectly by Cronin- resulting in just enough information to keep you hooked without it being overwhelming. Another thing that I enjoyed in the lines of the quantity of information was the partnership between the pictures/illustrations. Supported by the layout, the combination of text and pictures increased comprehension and made Maud’s story come to life. A gallery sort layout had taken place to showcase Maud’s art, making the reading experience a real “art” one.
Cronin was able to present the information both empathetically and biographically. Now what does it mean to represent empathy through your writing? Empathy in non-fiction writing consists of properly and compassionately communicating people's journeys, backgrounds, and emotions while keeping ethical considerations in mind.
An example from the book is:
“The Telescope program is also one the few instances we have of Maud speaking about her painting and where she found her signature style. “I put the same things in, I never change,” she said. “Same colours and same designs.” She went on to talk about where her imagery came from.
I imagine I’m painting from memory, I don’t copy much. I just have to guess my work up, ‘cause I don’t go nowhere, you know. I can’t copy any scenes or nothing. I have to make my own designs up.”- p.g 31
Adding Maud’s quotes enhanced her connection to the book, making it more personal and emotional. This results in empathetic writing.
I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed reading not just about Maud’s art life but also her personal life. It’s because, by the end of the book, I feel like I want to know the person
I am reading about it, and Our Maud did a wonderful job at that. Covering all areas of her life, from houses to relationships to places she had lived.
Art:
“Well I ain’t no real artist, I just like to paint.”- p.g 39
The art section of the book entails the themes and techniques that were equipped by Maud for her paintings. I found that this section had clear and concise information that could be easily understood by non-art folks. As a fellow art enthusiast, I think the way the themes and techniques were presented gave the reader a way to see the paintings beyond the top layer. I also appreciated how they showed the significance of Nova Scotia in Maud’s paintings, specifically the boats that were captured and the lighthouses that were painted.
Legacy:
“Maud Lewis succeeded in illuminating the best of the human spirit.”- Bernie Riordan- p.g 91
The third section of the book covers the lasting impact of Maud’s life.
Elements that were included in this section were:
Saving Maud Lewis’s Painted House- p.g 93
Conserving a Folk Art Treasure- p.g 105
The House That Maud Built: Maud Lewis and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia- p.g 131
Folk Art Found Us: Nova Scotia’s Folk Art Boom- p.g 139
The author did a wonderful job at representing Maud’s legacy and showing how her story has been preserved through the elements stated above. I found it extremely witty to not only show Maud’s impact but also how her legacy has been cherished.
Throughout the book, I kept wishing there was a timeline to help chronologically represent Maud’s life. In the end, my wish did come true as the book concludes with a special Maud timeline. A cherry on top!
They say education is the golden ticket for your future, and Our Maud couldn’t agree more, because not only is it an amazing biographical book to read, but it is also an amazing education book. It’s a perfect book for students looking to do some research for an upcoming project or to gain more knowledge.
One of the biggest things that I learned from this book was just the power of tenacity and resilience. The transformation between our weaknesses and strengths was painted beautifully in this book. Despite Maud’s juvenile arthritis, she continued to paint those flowers, add colour to the animals, outline the branches to the trees, and create her paintings of life. As Cronin said, “To accomplish what she did with her challenges is remarkable.” Now she remains a role model for many children and continues to inspire others with her story.
Our Maud- The Life, Art, and Legacy of Maud Lewis is a creative tribute to Maud Lewis that gives readers a heartfelt look into the artist who has greatly impacted Nova Scotia and Canadian art. Cronin’s clear and concise writing along with visual media creates a personal portrait of Maud Lewis.
Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars for its exceptional biography, layout, and information presentation. As someone who doesn’t read many non-fiction biographies simply because they don’t engage me as a reader- this book defied all expectations of any biography book I ever had. I think what made this book a 5/5 for me was just how reading it was an entire experience through the gallery layout, pictures, emotions, and more.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read about folk art, Nova Scotia art, or a powerful artist who overcame many challenges to become the artist that she became. I say that this book is a must-read and everyone should read about the vibrant life of Maud Lewis and the sunlight that she brought to the art world.
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