Maud Lewis stayed close to home: the rugged coastlines and gentle valleys of Nova Scotia's southwest knew—but they provided ample material for her joyful creative spirit. Now revered as Canada's foremost folk artist, Maud Lewis (1903-1970) transformed her world of poverty and deformity into a magical kingdom of happy children, contented animals, and a peaceful and charming rural environment.

Maud's Country offers unique insight into the landscapes that inspired Lewis's works and her own special way of representing them. The materials she had at hand were primitive—particleboard, crude brushes, marine or house paints. But these were all she needed to convey her message that happiness and harmony exist all around us, for those who have eyes to see.

In addition to his plays The Poor Farm and World Without Shadows, Lance Woolaver has published a number of fiction and non-fiction books for both adults and children, most notably The Illuminated Life Of Maud Lewis. He has won the Dartmouth Book Award, the Telefilm Canada Cross-over Award, and the Atlantic Bookseller's Award. Born in Digby, Nova Scotia, Woolaver now lives and writes in Halifax.

Lance Woolaver's profile page

Bob Brooks (1927-1999) was one of Canada’s finest photojournalists. His work appeared in Time Life, the Star Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, McCall's, Harper's, Maclean's, Chatelaine, the London Times, Paris Match and National Geographic. His radiant photos of Maud, first published in the Star Weekly article that changed her life, reflect Maud’s joyous optimism.

Bob Brooks' profile page