Arthur Cote. Sculptor. Wood carver. Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. Active late 20th century.

Arthur Cote carves traditional scenes and those of every day life in Quebec. From fishermen in their boats to traditional outdoor bread ovens. He also carves wild and domestic animals and birds in the field. He always paints in bright primary colours and he signs and dates his work on the base.

A Bird by Arthur Cote:

Arthur Cote. Grey Bird.

Arthur Cote’s mark in script:

Arthur Cote. His mark.

An Owl by Arthur Cote with the mark:

Arthur Cote. Sculptor. Bair-St-Paul, Quebec. Owl.

His Mark:

Arthur Cote. Sculptor. Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. Owl. His mark.

Ref: Adrien Levasseur. Website. And:  Sculpteurs en Art Populaire au Quebec, Editions GID, Quebec. 2012.

Eugene Desrosiers. Sculptor. Wood carver. Saint-Aime, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Eugene Desrosiers is known for a carving of a strong-man (Louis Cyr) in the collection of The Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.

A link to Louis Cyr carving by Eugene Desrosiers. (History Museum.ca):

http://collections.museedelhistoire.ca/public/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=5251295

Ref: Nancy Dunbar. Images of Sport in Early Canada. Montreal: McCord Museum. 1976.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

 Ref: Adrien Levasseur. Website. And:  Sculpteurs en Art Populaire au Quebec, Editions GID, Quebec. 2012.

Christiane Desbiens. Sculptor. Wood carver. Berthierville, Quebec. Active late 20th century.

Christiane Desbiens began carving when she retired in the 1990’s. She makes Angels and birds, especially Roosters. She often uses ‘as found materials in her work and she possesses a very fine sense of colour. Christiane Desbiens always signs her work. She works with her husband (Pierre Favreau) who is also a sculptor. (See separate article.)

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

Thomas Brisson. Sculptor. Wood carver. Weaver. Saint Gervais, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Thomas Brisson made wood carvings and also was a weaver. He was first mentioned and collected in The Canadian Museum of Civilization by Ethnologist Jean-Francois Blanchette. (See the link below.)

A link to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. ‘Du Coq a Lame’:

http://www.museedelhistoire.ca/cmc/exhibitions/arts/art-quebec/art-quebec2_1-f.shtml

Ref:  Adrien Levasseur. Website. And:  Sculpteurs en Art Populaire au Quebec, Editions GID, Quebec. 2012, Vol. 2.

Ref: Jean-Francois Blanchette. Du Coq a l’ame:l’art Populaire a Quebec, Presse Universite D’Ottawa, 2014.

Ref: Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies of the National Museum of Man, From the Heart:

Folk Art in Canada, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, c1983.