Jasper Marsh had a feeling the artworks were something special and put in some detective work. It turned out the four oils, which had been in the same family for 70 years, were by revered Canadian folk artist Maud Kathleen Lewis. The paintings, which then went to auction with an estimate of £100 to £200 each, became the subject of an international bidding battle and finally sold for a total of £36,000. Maud Lewis (1903-1970) is so highly regarded in Canada that her work, often outdoor scenes inspired by childhood memories, featured on Canada’s Christmas postage stamps. Born with birth defects, she developed rheumatoid arthritis which reduced her mobility in her hands and spent most of her life in poverty in a one-room house in Nova Scotia.
BBC News
Published
image captionLate summer landscape with single boat went for £10,000 at auction
Paintings boxed up in a house sold for £36,000 after they were revealed to be by revered Canadian artist Maud Lewis.
The four paintings had been in the same family for 70 years in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and went to auction with estimates of £100-£200 each.
Valuer Jasper Marsh said he had a hunch the paintings might be worth something but was surprised by the intensity of the auction.
Two works were purchased by Canadian buyers and will return to Canada.
image copyrightHansons
image copyrightHansons
The paintings that sold at auction following an international bidding battle were: