Hosanna Dupuis. Sculptor. Maskinonge, Quebec.
Active in the mid-20th century. M. Dupuis was a naive artist; a sculptor of animals birds and themes. Much of his work went into the Museum of Civilization; promised to them while he was still alive. He called his works ‘Jouets de Dieu’ (Playthings of God). He was inspired by his beliefs and surrounded himself and his house with his sculptures. His work was naive and very sophisticated and his pallet was bright and delicate with ‘as found’ colors. He was featured in the publication: ‘Les Patenteux du Quebec (see reference). My favorite of his ‘playthings’ was his boat; made to look like a running shoe. It was life sized and in running order. It was also his favorite.
I am including a link to one or two sites below that refer to Hosanna Dupuis as well as an image of a rare work by him (a carved and painted turtle; signed on the base.)
His work is rarely seen in private collections; museums have almost all of it.
The Turtle:
Turtle by Hosanna Dupuis
Gallery link for price and information:
http://lyleelderfolkart.com/artist-bios/dupuis-hosanna/
Link to a carving of a Penguin (Can. Museum of Civilization):
Link to an article published by the American Folk Art Museum:
http://issuu.com/american_folk_art_museum/docs/folkart_22_1_spr1997/61
(Ref: Les Patenteux du Qubec. Louise de Grosbois, Raymonde Lamothe and Lise Nantel, Les Editions Parti Pris, Montreal, 1978.)
