Yvonne Bourgault. Sculptor. Wood carver. Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Yvonne Bourgault was a sister of the three principal brothers, Andre, Medard and Jean-Julien Bourgault. She learned to carve at the school of Medard Bourgault and was known for her small painted figures and shadow boxes. She signed in script: ‘Y. Bourgault’ with a pen or carved with a chisel. Her carvings are rarely found signed. A couple of examples of her work are below; with examples of both types of marks.

A carving of a Woman by Yvonne Bourgault. Signed:

Yvonne Bourgault. Signed carving of a Woman. 1950’s

Her mark in script:

Carving of a Woman. Mark of Yvonne Bourgault.

Yvonne Bourgault. Painted carving of a man. 1950’s:

Yvonne Bourgault. Carving of a Man. 1950’s.

Mark of Yvonne Bourgault on a painted carving of a man:

Mark of Yvonne Bourgault on a carving of a man.

Yvonne Bourgault. An extremely rare carving of a pipe with the bowl carved in the shape of a Courieur du Bois.* (1950’s) It is signed on the underside: Y. Bourgault:

Yvonne.Bourgault Signed carving of a Pipe.

Yvonne Bourgault. Her mark on the base of the pipe.

*From a private collection (with images graciously provided).

Arthur Dube. Sculptor. Wood carver. Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Arthur Dube was known for his carvings of the wild animals of Quebec. His subjects ranged from Caribou and moose to Beavers; often putting them on lamp bases with shades made of wood veneers, sewn together. He signed his work usually with a chisel on the base. His work was sold in Galleries around Quebec and he often did commissions for companies and associations. His sculptures were often quite spectacular and very decorative. He carved usually in Basswood and they were never painted but occcasionally stained ones are found. His two brothers, Clement and Andre were also sculptors and carved the same themes. Shown is a Caribou with his mark.

A caribou by Arthur Dube. 1960’s:

Arthur Dube. Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Quebec.Carving of a Caribou on a lamp base.

His mark:

Arthur Dube. His mark.

Arthur Dube. Carving of a Buffalo. With a dark stain and varnished:

Arthur Dube. Carving of a BUffalo.

The Arthur Dube mark:

Arthur Dube mark on the Buffalo carving

A pair of bookends by Arthur Dube:

Arthur Dube. St-Roche-des-Aulnaies. Carved Bookends.

The mark:

Arthur Dube. His mark.

Raymond Ducharme. Sculptor. Wood carver. Magog, Quebec. Active late 20th century.

Raymond Ducharme is a primitive artist from Magog in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. He carves in Pine and paints in ‘as found’ colors. He usually signs his work on the base. Shown is a painted carving of a Bull with his name, location and the date: 1997. (About 10 inches long at the base.)

An image of a wood carving of a Bull by Raymond Ducharme, signed on the base:

Raymond Ducharme. Magog, Quebec. Carving of a Bull.

His Mark and date 1997:

Raymond Ducharme. Magog, Quebec. His mark.

J. P Bourgault. Sculptor. Wood carver. Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. Active mid-20th Century.

A nephew of the Bourgault Brothers.

A relief carving by J.P.Bourgault 1950’s. And his mark:

J. P. Bourgault. Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. Relief carving of a shoe maker. 1950’s.

His mark:

J.P. Bourgault. His mark.

The Trygg family of wood carvers. Montreal, Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. Sweden. Active most of the 20th Century.In Canada and later in Sweden.Carl Johan Trygg (B. 1887) emigrated to Halifax, Canada early in 1928 just before the Depression of the 1930’s, leaving behind a troubled Europe; still recovering from the First World War. He was joined later that same year by his wife Maria, his sons Carl Olaf, and Nils and his daughter (?) Kally Trygg. A successful sculptor already; he moved to Montreal, Quebec where he continued to make wood carvings. With a burgeoning and successful wood carving tradition already established in Quebec; Trygg adapted quickly and fit in well. As his children grew ( a third son, Lars was born in Canada) they also became working wood carvers. A relative; Ellen Trygg was also known to have made wood carvings. Their style of carving is known as Caricature carving; done in the Scandinavian Flat Plane tradition of wood carving. Similar to the Black Forest sculptures and the Anri carvings of the Italian Alps. (While the Bourgault artists of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli and other Quebec schools worked in the flat Plane style; they carved from life. Their works were not Caricature carvings.)

The artists in the Trygg family were:

Carl Johan Trygg.  1877-1954. See separate article in the Directory: http://lyleelderfolkart.com/artist-bios/carl-johan-trygg/

Carl Olaf Trygg.  1910-1993. See separate article.

Nils Trygg. 1914-1951.

Lars Trygg. (Dates Unknown)

Ellen Trygg. (Family relationship uncertain as yet.) See separate article.

Carl Johan Trygg, Carl Olaf Trygg and Nils Trygg returned to Sweden after the end of the Second World War where they resumed carving. Lars remained in North America.

Ref: Website with a background of the Trygg Family:

http://www.hobonickels.org/trygg03.htm