Leo Arbour. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Pointe-du-Lac, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Active mid-20th century.

Leo Arbour made classical wood carvings for churches throughout Quebec and Canada. He also carved the traditional themes of Quebec. His formal work was often  unpainted and he made many beautiful painted carvings of traditional Quebec scenes and customs. He carved in the ‘flat-plane’ tradition. He is considered one of the ‘greats’ of Quebec and Canadian ecclesiastical artists. Leo Arbour received formal training in both painting and sculpting wood. He is mentioned here because of the shared influences; from untrained artists and on  untrained artists and on the field of ‘folk art’ in general. (See the Painted example in the link below.)

Two relief carvings of a man and woman in traditional early Quebec settler’s costumes by Leo Arbour. The wood used is Basswood and they are signed on the reverse (1940’s):

Two ‘Bas Reliefs’ by Leo Arbour:

Leo Arbour. Quebec. Two relief carvings. 1940’s.

‘Bas relief’ Profile of a Man by Leo Arbour:

Leo Arbour. Relief carving of a Quebec ‘Habitant’.

A link to the “Dictionnaire Historic de la Sculpture Quebecoise au XXieme Ciecle” and a painted carving by Leo Arbour; The New Year’s Blessing (La Benidiction du jour de l’an. C. 1950):

http://dictionnaire.espaceartactuel.com/artistes/arbour-leo-1912-2003/

Bert Lancaster. Woodcarver. Montreal, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Bert Lancaster made souvenir relief carvings. Often of the Laurentian mountains; well carved and painted; they were usually signed on the reverse with a title.

An example below with his mark:

Bert Lancaster. Relief Carving. Quebec. 1940’s.

His mark:

Bert Lancaster. his mark.

Herve Lessard. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Marbleton, Quebec. Active late 20th century.

Herve Lessard is known for his carvings of women. His work is naïve and very confident, and his carvings have a lot of strength, personality and attitude. They range in size from 6 to 8 inches in smaller ones. and up to 12 to 14 inches in larger. Always painted in bright ‘as found’ colors and often in ‘pairs’, his carvings are memorable and fun to look at. His early work was unsigned. He signed later  carvings with his initials: ‘H.L.’ usually on the feet and occasionally with his name and a date on the bottom of the base. Very often his carvings will have movable arms; a feature that adds greatly to them. Some of his larger carvings will have applied hair; the smaller pieces usually have carved hair. More rarely, Herve Lessard carved  animals, especially later in his career. An artist whose work has intelligence,charm and mystery. Some examples are posted below. He has a brother Roger Lessard who is also known to make carvings and it is possible that he is the maker of the animal carvings. For ‘economic’ reasons he was reluctant to sign his works.

An Earlier work by Herve Lessard. Woman with Black Hair and a Challenge (14 inches Tall:

Herve Lessard. Woodcarver. Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Herve Lessard. A group of three Women:

Herve Lessard. Woodcarver. Three Women. Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Herve Lessard. Sample of his Mark:

Herve Lessard. His mark.

Herve Lessard. Wood carving.  A Lady in Black:

Herve Lessard. Sherbrooke Quebec. Lady in Black. 1997.

His Initials on the base:

Herve Lessard. Lady in Black. Detail of his Mark.

A Grey Cat by Herve Lessard. Wood, String and color.:

Herve or Roger Lessard. Carving of a Grey Cat. C. 2005.

D. R. Ballenger. Painter. Montreal, Quebec area. Active mid 20th century.

Ballenger painted naive landscapes, usually of Farms or Villages in water colors. They were usually signed in the lower right corner.

An painting by D. R. Ballenger. Signed and dated in the lower right corner:

D. R. Ballenger. ’52. Quebec.

The mark:

D. R. Ballenger. Mark.

H. G. Baldwin. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Montreal, Quebec. Active 1930’s.

H.G. Baldwin made naive, painted flat-plane relief carvings. He lived in Montreal and spent his summers in Morin Heights where his work was often sold to tourists and travelers  in the Laurentians. They were always signed in ink on the reverse and occasionally dated. Baldwin often used other materials in his work. I have seen larger relief carvings by him the had coloured gravel applied with glue to portray stone work on paths and chimneys.

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An example of his work:

H. G. Baldwin. Montreal, Quebec. Relief carving of a cabin on a lake.

The mark:

H. G. Baldwin. Sample of his mark.