Artist Bios — Page 183 — LyleElderFolkArt.com

Adrien Arpin

Born: Active mid-20th century.

Adrien Arpin. Sculptor. Woodcarver. St.-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Active mid-20th century.

Adrien Arpin made a variety of painted wood carvings in the flat-plane tradition of the artists in St.-Jean-Port-Joli. Especially carvings of people but also carvings of kitchen items such as wall boxes for matches and salt and napkin rings etc. His earlier work was always painted but into the 1950’s he began making unpainted figural carvings and kitchen ware. He signed with a chisel or with a stamp in black ink. Recently added here are a pair of skiers; an extremely rare form in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli woodcarvings.

An example of one of Adrien Arpin’s hanging wall boxes. (1940’s):

A Salt Box. Adrien Arpin. St. Hyacinthe, Quebec. C. 1950.

A carving of Checker Players. Signed A. Arpin on the base with a later over paint:

A. Arpin. Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. Checker Players.

A. Arpin. Sainte-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Checker Players.

A detail of the Checker Players with the mark:

A. Arpin. Checker players. A detail of the mark.

Adrien Arpin. Checker players. A detail of his mark.

A pair of painted Quebec figures in traditional costumes by Adrien Arpin. Late 1940’s:

Adrien Arpin. Two carved figures.

The stamped mark of A. Arpin on the base:

The mark of A. Arpin, St-Hyacinthe, QC.

Another pair by Adrien Arpin:

Skiers by Adrien Arpin ( An extremely rare form in these St-Jean-Port-Joli carvings):

Location: Quebec

Alex Campbell

Born: ?

Alex Campbell. Sculptor. Ottawa Valley, (Alexandria area), Ontario. Active mid-20th century.

Alex Campbell made primitive brightly painted wood carvings of people. Active 1950’s-1960’s. Often signed his carvings on the front of the base with his name ‘Alex’ using a chisel. His figures were usually smaller in size; about 5 or 6 inches tall. His carvings were always full of expression and brightly painted.

Three examples of his work (From a private collection.):

Alex Campbell. Alexandria, Ontario. Three signed carvings. 1950’s.

Location: Ontario

Percy Helm

Born: 1907 | Died: 1996

Percy Helm. Painter. Sculptor. Tidnish Bridge, Nova Scotia. Active late 1970’s- 1990’s.

A naive painter and a sculptor of primitive works. Especially Birds. Percy Helm worked with ‘as found’ materials and colours.

Found in Nova Scotia; an oil painting of seven ducks, all different species of the area. It is painted on a section of a 1960’s era hollow door. Marked on the reverse: Ex. collection Ellen Holden, Amherst, Nova Scotia. 1970’s. Percy Helm also was a bird carver.

An image of the painting:

Percy Helm. Tidnish Bridge, Nova Scotia.

Location: Nova Scotia

Ernie Myers

Born: Active late 20th century.

Ernest (Ernie) Myers. Sculptor. Moncton, New Brunswick.Active third quarter of the 29th century.

Ernie Myers’ themes were Rabbits, cast in human situations. Often with carrots. Just about every sculpture that Mr. Myers made involved a rabbit or rabbits. And they were very good indeed. He worked with ‘as found’ materials and colours and usually signed his work on the base.

A very fine story about Ernie Meers; and also about Folk Art; and all the artists:

An old friend of mine, Louis Gosselin was from the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick. His childhood hero was fellow Acadian, and neighbor, Yvon Durelle, the world famous boxer: the ‘Fighting Fisherman’. Louis Gosselin was a friend of Ernie Myers and a collector of his work (and a lot of other fabulous folk art!). He asked Mr. Myers one day if he would make him a carving of that famous fight between Archie Moore and Yvon Durelle, his childhood hero. This is what Ernie Myers brought him:

Ernie Meyers. Dieppe New Brunswick. The Match.

Ernie Myers. Dieppe New Brunswick. The Match.

Another example of Ernie Myers’ work. The Tricycle Rabbit:

Ernie Meyers. Dieppe New Brunswick. Tricycle Rabbit.

Ernie Myers. Dieppe New Brunswick. Tricycle Rabbit.

The mark of Ernie Myers:

Ernest Myers. Sculptor. Moncton, N.B. His mark.

Location: New Brunswick

Ernest Boucher

Born: 1913 | Died: 1988

Ernest Boucher. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Madeleine Centre, Gaspe, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Ernest Boucher was an early folk artist on the Gaspe shore. He made boat models and carvings of birds and animals. Usually of Red Cedar wood; stained and varnished.

Madeleine Lizotte (‘Mado’) was his wife and partner and had much greater range in terms of subject matter and color palette. It is my understanding that coloured works by Ernest Boucher were carved by him but coloured by Mado. (See the separate article on her work.)

Ernest Boucher. Wood Carving, stained and varnished. The Beaver:

Beaver by Ernest Boucher

Ernest Boucher. Blue Jay. Carved by him and coloured by ‘Mado’ (Madeleine Lizotte) his wife:

Blue Jay by Ernest Boucher. Mado colored this.

Ernest Boucher. His mark:

Ernest Boucher his mark.