William Loney. Sculptor. Painter. South Bay, Prince Edward County, Ontario. Active early to mid 20th century. Naive artist; created dioramas, bird houses, animals and people.
Ellison Eagles
Born: 1912 | Died: 1976
Ellison Eagles. Sculptor. Woodcarver. North River (Lunenburg), Nova Scotia.Active mid 20th century.
Ellison Eagles made carved and painted primitive works of people and their activities. He also carved animals, birds and made sculptures and assemblies for his yard.
Ref: Marie Elwood. Folk Art of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Halifax. 1976.
Ref: Kobayashi/Bird, A Compendium of Canadian Folk Artists (1985).
Ref: Anne Sutherland and Zalman Amit. The Sutherland/Amit Collection. Smith Falls, Ont. 1994.
Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).
Rene Lavoie
Born: 1904 | Died: 1954
Rene Lavoie. Sculptor. Wood carver. Baie-Saint-Paul. Quebec. Active early to mid-20th Century.
Rene Lavoie was a sculptor of scenes from daily life in Quebec. His carvings are full of expression and detail. And always beautifully coloured. He made carvings of people at work on the farm; in the round and in shadow boxes as well as carvings of animals and birds. All in wonderful color. He signed his work; sometimes by in script and sometimes with various stamps in ink. One of his marks is shown below.
He was born in Baie-Saint-Paul where he first began carving and showing his work. He established a workshop and gallery in 1944 in Pointe-au-Pic and in the late 1940’s moved to the Cote-de-Beaupre and opened a shop in Chateau-Richer. He also had a shop in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre where he showed his work in front of the gallery. There were often life-sized, painted carvings of people shown; carvings that sold for $200 and more. (See the image below of his studio in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre near Quebec City.)
Rene Lavoie also was known to have made violins and mandolins (he played these instruments himself). He had, at one point, galleries in Baie-Saint-Paul, Pointe-au-Pic, Chateau-Richer and Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. He also sold his work through the art departments of Eatons and Simpsons stores. Rene Lavoie died in his 50th year.
A carving of a woman at an outdoor bread oven in Quebec:
Rene Lavoie. Chateau-Richer, Quebec.
Rene Lavoie. His mark:
Rene Lavoie. His mark.
Another detail. The figure is missing the paddle to remove the loaves:
Rene Lavoie. detail
A Couple. Rene Lavoie. 1930’s:
Rene Lavoie, Woodcarver. Sculpteur sur bois. Baie-St-Paul, Quebec.
Rene Lavoie. A photograph of his studio and shop:
Rene Lavoie. At work at his studio.
The Shop of Rene Lavoie in Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, Que:
Rene Lavoie. The shop in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, Quebec.
A link to the Canadian Museum of Civilization website and one of his works:
http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasure/107eng.shtml
Ref: Mathieu Tremblay. (2006)
Seton Tompkins
Born: 1899 | Died: 1986
Seton Tompkins. Sculptor. Wood carver. Painter. Singhampton, Ontario. Active mid to late 20th century.
Seton Tompkins made sculptures in wood of people, animals and situations involving people and their lives.His work was painted in ‘as found’ colors and well varnished with glossy varnish. His sculptures were tongue in cheek and full of humor. Seton Tompkins always signed his work. He has been collected by museums and is in many private collections.
