Travel : Halifax Part 3 – Maud Lewis at Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Hello! Here is the third and final story about our anniversary trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Part 1 and Part 2)
On our last evening there, we went to see the Maud Lewis Exhibition at The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Maud was born and lived her life in Nova Scotia, so it is fitting that the gallery has a permanent exhibit of her work on display, including the very house in which she lived and painted.
Maud lived between 1903 and died in 1970. She’d developed severe rheumatoid arthritis as a child, which greatly effected her mobility and made going to school difficult. As a young girl, she was taught to paint by her mother, and the two of them handmade Christmas cards, which they sold. After her parents died, her only sibling, a brother, inherited the family home and Maud eventually had to move out. After answering an ad for a live in house keeper for a fish peddler, Everett Lewis, she moved into his tiny home (the one that’s in the gallery) and after a short time, they were married. She would accompany him on his work-runs and sell her paintings along the way. She also sold paintings from the front of their home, to travelers who would pass and see the “Paintings for Sale” sign.
Having watched and loved the movie “Maudie“, I found viewing the exhibit to be an extra special experience. It was so neat to see the house and, of course, the completely charming artworks.
↑ The actual house that she and her husband lived in. ↑
After checking out the exhibit, we went to the gift shop where we got two tote bags with prints of Maud Lewis’ paintings on them.
From the gallery, we headed to the waterfront, to a restaurant we’d spotted during our first walk around Halifax, Sea Smoke.
They were participating in “Halifax Taco Week“, a food festival where restaurants all around the city offer a main featuring some kind of tacos on their menu, with proceeds benefiting charity.
So, we both went for their “Sweet and Sticky Asian Pork Rib Tacos”, which were delicious. When asked after the trip what his favourite dish in Halifax was, these tacos came at the top of Nick’s list. That’s saying a lot, since, as previously mentioned, we both thought all the food we had in Halifax was excellent!
After dinner, we walked along the waterfront, on our way back to the hotel. It was beautiful.
That concludes the story about our trip to Halifax. We had a wonderful holiday, filled with only fond memories. This was my first time visiting Canada’s east coast, and I look forward to checking out the other places out there in the future.
Thank you for reading, xo loulou
