Jean-Baptiste Cote. Sculptor. Wood carver. Quebec, Quebec. Active mid 19th century.
Jean-Baptiste Cote is one of the earliest Quebec folk artists whose work can be identified. He usually caved larger pieces, mainly religious works and historical figures as well as Cigar Store ‘Indians’ and ship’s figureheads. He carved smaller pieces for friends and family; birds and animals that he varnished and sometimes painted. The McCord Museum, in Montreal displayed a painted carving of a Parrot by Cote from the Nettie Sharpe collection in 1976. See reference below.
Most carvings said to be by him are attributions only. A carving from the Marjorie Larmon collection shown below is an example of one such attribution.
A carving attributed to Jean-Baptiste Cote:
Jean Baptiste Cote. Attribution. Cigar Store Figure. 19th C.
A detail of the above carving:
Detail of the above.
A link to The Canadian Encyclopedia with an interesting article about the early Quebec carvings:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sculpture/
Ref: Francois-Marc Gagnon. Vie des Arts. Vol. 20, No. 82, Spring 1976. “La Voliere Enchantee”.
Link to a PDF (in French)of the above article: https://www.erudit.org/culture/va1081917/va1186410/55033ac.pdf
