Fresh-to-Market Maud Lewis Paintings, Rare Folk Art and Maritime Masterworks Headline October 8 Auction
Online-only sale features 38 curated lots of Canadian folk art, including rare Maud Lewis works, Joe Norris landscapes, Yvon Coté carvings and single-owner material
Maud Lewis, Model T
Rare circa 1965 transportation scene with letter of authenticity. Estimate: $30,000–$35,000 CAD.
NEW HAMBURG, Ontario, Canada – Two rare mid-1960s paintings by Maud Lewis; an important Joe Norris winter landscape; and a landmark Angus Trudeau painting of Anderson’s Mill headline Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.’s Post-War Canadian Folk Art auction, taking place Thursday, October 8, 2026. The focused 38-lot sale brings together fresh-to-the-market works from single-owner estates and long-standing collections.
The online-only auction begins at 6pm Eastern Time, with lots closing sequentially in real time through a live webcast. There is no in-person event to attend, but collectors can tune in and watch the sale unfold online. Internet bidding is available through Miller & Miller Auctions and LiveAuctioneers, with phone and absentee bidding also accepted.
“This is a very rare opportunity to see so many fresh-to-market Maud Lewis paintings, particularly works that have remained in single-owner collections,” said Aki Ohtsuka, Consignment Director for Folk Art at Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “The two mid-1960s paintings, Model T and Horse and Buggy, are especially exciting because of their rarity, bright colour and provenance. The auction opens with three iconic Mauds, and throughout the sale you can see the progression of her style as she experimented with different landscapes, compositions and colours.”
The centrepiece is Lot 22, Maud Lewis’s Model T (estimate: 30,000–35,000 CAD). Painted in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, circa 1965, the cheerful springtime scene depicts a couple out for a drive, a subject that connects directly to Lewis’s own early married life. When Maud met Everett Lewis in 1938, he owned an old Ford Model T and would take her from village to village to peddle fish; the landscape around Sandy Cove, Digby, Smith’s Cove and Bear River would later inform many of her paintings. The work includes a letter of authenticity, is signed “Lewis” at lower right.
Lot 23, Maud Lewis’s Horse and Buggy (estimate: 20,000–25,000 CAD) offers another scarce mid-1960s transportation subject. Painted in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, the work depicts three passengers being carried through a bright early-spring landscape, reflecting Lewis’s fascination with the forms of transportation that shaped rural life. The painting includes a letter of authenticity and is signed “Lewis” at lower right.
Maud Lewis, Horse and Buggy
Scarce mid-1960s serial image with letter of authenticity. Estimate: $20,000–$25,000 CAD.
“Rarity is really the defining theme of this sale,” added Ohtsuka. “We have works that are genuinely difficult to find, from the earlier 1950s Mauds in Lots 26 and 27 to Cyril Hirtle’s Man with Lobster Traps, where fewer than 100 examples of Hirtle’s work are known to exist. We’re also offering three works by female carver Phyllis Cosman, which is an unusually strong representation of an artist whose work is rarely encountered.”
Among the important regional works is Lot 20, Joe Norris’s Winter Scene (estimate: 6,000–9,000 CAD). Painted in Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia, circa 1978, the work is closely related to Norris’s Winter Cove, 1978, illustrated in Bernard Riordon’s Painted Visions of Nova Scotia. Fresh snow blankets the cove while autumn leaves remain on the trees, while scattered flecks of snow across the evergreens, bare branches and grazing moose anticipate the decorative treatment Norris would later develop in his celebrated Starry Night paintings. The painting is signed “Joe. Norris” at lower left.
Ontario folk art is represented by Lot 25, Angus Trudeau’s Anderson’s Mill, Little Current (estimate: 4,000–6,000 CAD). Painted on Manitoulin Island circa 1980, the work departs from Trudeau’s better-known ship series to document the Anderson’s Mill planing mill, built by Charles Anderson in 1886 and known locally as the “Red Mill.” The work is unsigned.
Another scarce Maritime example is Lot 14, Cyril Hirtle’s Man with Lobster Traps (estimate: 2,500–3,500 CAD). Painted at Hirtles Beach in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, circa 1985, the unconventional fishing scene deliberately overturns conventional perspective, with boats, oars and bundles appearing upside down around the central fisherman. Hirtle’s signature establishes the intended orientation, while the unusual viewpoint demonstrates the rule-breaking approach to scale, perspective and narrative for which his scarce paintings are known.
The sale continues with Lot 24, Conrad Furey’s Childhood Games (estimate: 2,000–3,000 CAD), a rich recollection of Newfoundland outport life painted in 1985. Drawing from Furey’s memories of growing up in Baie Verte, the composition brings together hoop rolling, circle dancing, chopping wood, tending the clothesline, boating and play along the shoreline, with familiar houses, stages, rowboats and working figures forming an almost encyclopedic portrait of childhood. The painting is signed “Conrad Furey 95” at lower right and retains a Beaverbrook Art Gallery label on the reverse.
Quebec folk art is particularly well represented, with 10 works by Yvon Coté featured in the sale, headlined by Lot 4, Rooster (estimate: 2,000–3,000 Canadian). Carved in Grande-Vallée, Québec, circa 1980, the work shows Coté moving beyond the naturalistic treatment of songbirds and birds of prey into a more exaggerated and expressive interpretation. The carving is marked “YC” on the base.
The sale also includes Lot 15, Phyllis Cosman’s Pioneer with Butter Churn (estimate: 900–1,200 CAD), carved in Avonport, Nova Scotia, circa 2000. While Cosman is known for carvings depicting close interpersonal relationships and contemporary occupations, this example takes a more nostalgic approach, portraying a maternal figure preparing to churn butter. Signed “P. Cosman” on the bottom of the base.
“The pre-bidding response has been very strong, and I think collectors are recognizing just how unusual it is to have this many rare and distinctive examples brought together in one small, focused sale,” said Ohtsuka.
The Post-War Canadian Folk Art auction takes place online Thursday, October 8, 2026, beginning at 6pm Eastern Time, with sequential live lot closing and webcast viewing. Bidders can register and place bids through www.millerandmillerauctions.com or LiveAuctioneers; phone and absentee bids are also accepted.
Auction link: https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-MGJVPX/post-war-canadian-folk-art
Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. is Canada’s trusted seller of high-value collections, specializing in Canadiana and folk art, watches and jewellery, automobilia and petroliana, advertising, and other important collectibles. The firm provides collectors with a trusted place to buy and sell, while offering professional guidance for individual works, estates and major collections.
To consign a single piece, an estate, or a collection, contact Miller & Miller Auctions at (519) 573-3710 or email info@millerandmillerauctions.com.