Heart and Soul – Quebec Folk Art
Proud – Story-Telling

Quebecers take pride in themselves, in what surrounds them, and in what they possess. They enjoy both the image they project and the image they have of themselves. And they love to tell a story!

 Proud
My mother made hats. When I was little, I would watch her as she created an extraordinary hat from nothing. My grandfather also made fantastic things. I thought to myself, 'These people are magicians.' I wanted to be just like them, and I thought things like this happened at everyone's house. I knew that I was going to paint and sculpt. I knew it quite early. It was something inside me.
Jacqueline Tremblay
I am most proud of the things I have created using skills that I was never taught, but always had. I always knew, for example, what I could do with a piece of wood and a pocketknife. I found it easy to carve whatever came to mind. When faced with a block of wood or a chunk of stone, I had already envisaged the work and how to carve it before I even started
Raymond Massicotte
 Story-Telling
I use real people as my models. It started with my grandfather, Louis, who came from Navan. I also had many uncles who worked on the farm, and I ended up portraying them all. When I display these figures, people say to me, ‘Good heavens, you have a lot of imagination!’ I say to them, ‘No, I haven’t. I just reproduce what already exists what already exists by mining my past!’
Fleurette Solomon
I discovered at a fairly young age that I had a talent for sculpture. At the age of 18, I was a log driver. I stood guard along the river. We often had little to do. With my pocket knife, I would whittle wood. That's how it all began.
Léon Bouchard
In 1956–1957, I was a log driver at La Tuque. It was a real workout! We would leave at the end of April when the snow began to melt, and we would travel downriver on log rafts. I did that one year for about six or seven months. I always had a small axe and a pocket knife with me. A pocket knife is the oldest tool in the world! When I had time, I carved all sorts of things into the trees, such as heads, faces, crows, and I would leave them behind in the woods.
Raymond Massicotte
Gallery
Proud of What They Own
People take pride in their possessions - homes, farms, pets, livestock, vehicles - and folk artists express that pride in all its aspects.
  • Box - 2002.125.861 a-b - IMG2008-0800-0127-Dm
    Box
    Olivier Lefebvre (1872–1962)
    Laprairie, Montérégie
    1950
    Wood
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.861 a–b

    This box was sculpted from a single piece of wood.
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0800-0127-Dm

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  • Horse - 2002.125.138 - IMG2008-0800-0128-Dm
    Horse
    Lucien Larose (born in 1914)
    Ca. 1960
    Painted wood, wool
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.138
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0800-0128-Dm
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  • Weathervane  - 71-316 - S90-2174
    Trotting Horse — Weathervane
    19th century
    Sheet iron, wrought iron, wooden base added at a later date
    CMCC 71-316
    CMCC S90-2174
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  • Animals - 2002.125.821, 2002.125.482, 91-73, 2002.125.1167, 2002.125.718 - IMG2008-0080-0131-Dm
    Farm Animals
    20th century

    Front, left to right:

    1
    Abénaki
    CMCC 2002.125.821

    2
    Unknown Artist
    CMCC 2002.125.482

    3
    Ox
    Damase Richard (1852–1922)
    Saint-Ubalde, Portneuf
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 91-73

    4
    Damase Richard
    CMCC 2002.125.1167

    Back
    Bull
    Charlevoix
    Painted wood
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.718
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0131-Dm
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  • Pigs - 2002.125.28, 27 2002.125.26 - IMG2008-0080-0113-Dm
    Pigs
    André Saint-Pierre (born in 1897)
    Quebec City
    Painted wood, metal
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.28, 27 and 26
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0113-Dm
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  • Box - 2002.125.861 a-b - IMG2008-0800-0127-Dm
  • Horse - 2002.125.138 - IMG2008-0800-0128-Dm
  • Weathervane  - 71-316 - S90-2174
  • Animals - 2002.125.821, 2002.125.482, 91-73, 2002.125.1167, 2002.125.718 - IMG2008-0080-0131-Dm
  • Pigs - 2002.125.28, 27 2002.125.26 - IMG2008-0080-0113-Dm


Proud of What They Make
Artists display their skills by producing well-made objects. Technique and decoration enable them to express the pride they take in their work.
  • The Tree of Life - 2002.125.344 a-b - IMG2008-0080-0122-Dm
    “The Tree of Life”
    Missal Case
    Napoléon Duhaime
    Quebec City area
    Late 19th century
    Wood
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.344 a–b
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0122-Dm

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  • Length of Carpet - 80-616 - D2003-05453
    Length of Carpet
    Marie Goulet-Fradette (1885–1929) and Odélie Fradette-Brisson
    Saint-Gervais, Chaudière-Appalaches
    Early 20th century
    Cow hair, linen, cotton
    CMCC 80-616

    Generations of weavers succeeded one another in the Brisson families of Bellechasse.
    CMCC D2003-05453
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  • Hooked Rug - 80-610 - IMG2009-0160-0008-Dm
    Hooked Rug
    Marie-Éva Lemieux-Brisson (born in 1910)
    Saint-Gervais, Chaudière-Appalaches
    1925–1928
    Hemp, cotton, jute
    CMCC 80-610
    Steven Darby
    CMCC IMG2009-0160-0008-Dm
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  • Deer - 80-611 - IMG2009-0160-0009-Dm
    Deer
    Hooked Rug
    Claire Labrecque-Brisson (1909–1971)
    Saint-Gervais, Chaudière-Appalaches
    1930
    Hemp, cotton, jute
    CMCC 80-611

    Folk artists often extol heroes, as well as everyday people and figures from the worlds of politics, business or religion. Their work recalls everything from major happenings to incidents from daily life, and depicts events which have left their mark on collective memory.
    Steven Darby
    CMCC IMG2009-0160-0009-Dm
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  • The Tree of Life - 2002.125.344 a-b - IMG2008-0080-0122-Dm
  • Length of Carpet - 80-616 - D2003-05453
  • Hooked Rug - 80-610 - IMG2009-0160-0008-Dm
  • Deer - 80-611 - IMG2009-0160-0009-Dm


Proud of What They Know
Folk artists often extol heroes, as well as everyday people and figures from the worlds of politics, business or religion. Their work recalls everything from major happenings to incidents from daily life, and depicts events which have left their mark on collective memory.
  • Henri Lajeunesse - 81-317, 85-159, 80-155, 85-160 - IMG2008-0080-0137-Dm
    Sculptures by Henri Lajeunesse

    Henri Lajeunesse (1906–1998), from Joliette (Lanaudière), was already 70 years old when he began to sculpt. Nettie Covey Sharpe met him and said to him, “You know, Mr. Lajeunesse, one day your works will be in a museum.” According to his daughter Claudette, that was all it took for his passion to become a near-obsession, to the dismay of his wife, because it ended their afternoon games of checkers — he no longer had time.

    Left to right:

    Louis Cyr
    Henri Lajeunesse (1906–1998)
    Joliette, Lanaudière
    1972
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 81-317

    In his time, and to this day, Louis Cyr (1863–1912) has been Quebec’s most popular hero. His reputation and his exploits as the strongest man in the world have withstood the test of time.

    Wilfrid Laurier
    Henri Lajeunesse (1906–1998)
    Joliette, Lanaudière
    1981
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 85-159

    Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919) was the first francophone to become prime minister of Canada, from 1896 to 1911. He was a great defender of the rights of francophones.

    René Lévesque
    Late 1970s
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 80-155

    Politician and journalist René Lévesque (1922–1987) founded the Parti Québécois in 1968 and was premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. A strong nationalist and supporter of Quebec independence, he oversaw the nationalization of hydro-electric power in the province and the instigation of the French language charter, Bill 101.

    Les Yvettes — Lise Payette
    Henri Lajeunesse (1906–1998)
    Joliette, Lanaudière
    1981
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 85-160

    Lise Payette (born in 1931) was an important figure in Quebec radio and television. Entering political life at the side of René Lévesque, she reproached women for staying at home, rather than getting out and getting involved. She characterized the wife of Quebec Liberal leader and staunch federalist Claude Ryan (1925–2004) as a docile “Yvette”. This controversial comment helped to lose René Lévesque many votes during the 1980 referendum on Quebec separation.
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0137-Dm

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  • Maurice Duplessis - 85-161 - IMG2008-0080-0008-Dm
    Maurice Duplessis
    Henri Lajeunesse (1906–1998)
    Joliette, Lanaudière
    1981
    Painted wood
    Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection
    CMCC 85-161
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0008-Dm
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  • Louis Cyr - 2002.125.58 - IMG2008-0080-0143-Dm
    Louis Cyr
    Eugène Desrosiers (born in 1887)
    Saint-Aimé, Montérégie
    Before 1980
    Wood
    Bequest of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Estate
    CMCC 2002.125.58

    With his Herculean strength, Louis Cyr was able to lift 1.9 tonnes on his back, and push a freight car up a steep incline.
    Marie-Louise Deruaz
    CMCC IMG2008-0080-0143-Dm
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  • Henri Lajeunesse - 81-317, 85-159, 80-155, 85-160 - IMG2008-0080-0137-Dm
  • Maurice Duplessis - 85-161 - IMG2008-0080-0008-Dm
  • Louis Cyr - 2002.125.58 - IMG2008-0080-0143-Dm