Maud Lewis Oxen Winter Scene Giclee Print | Nova Scotia Folk Art

Details

Few subjects captured Maud Lewis's heart quite like working oxen, and this 1964 winter scene showcases everything that makes her oxen paintings so beloved. Two magnificent beasts stand side by side facing the viewer, their proud horns adorned with decorative rope, brilliant gold bells hanging from their necks, and rich red harnesses glowing against the pristine white snow. Behind them, dark green fir trees frame a classic Maritime winter landscape that feels both timeless and deeply rooted in Nova Scotia's vanishing rural traditions.
Lewis painted oxen throughout her entire career—it's one of the few subjects that spanned three full decades of her work. These weren't random animals to her. They represented a world she knew intimately through her father's harness shop in Yarmouth, where sleigh bells and leather goods hung on the walls and the smell of skilled craftsmanship filled the air. Her father Jack was a respected blacksmith and harness maker, and young Maud absorbed every detail of the ornate halters, decorative bells, and intricate leatherwork that transformed working animals into something noble and beautiful.
By 1964, that world was rapidly disappearing. Horses and oxen were giving way to automobiles and modern machinery, yet Lewis continued painting these faithful work animals with evident affection and careful attention to their adornments. The gold bells in this painting aren't mere decoration—they're a loving tribute to the craftsmanship her father practiced, the traditions that shaped her childhood, and the hardworking animals that were integral to Maritime logging and agricultural life.
Notice how Lewis renders the harnesses with such care. The bright red leather pops against the oxen's dark bodies and the white snow, while the yellow-gold bells catch the eye immediately. She understood these details because she grew up surrounded by them, watching her father create and repair harnesses for farmers and loggers throughout Yarmouth County. These oxen, standing at attention with their decorative rope-adorned horns, embody dignity and strength—qualities Maritime people recognized in the animals that helped them survive and prosper.
The winter setting amplifies the painting's nostalgic power. Snow blankets the ground in that pure, flat white Lewis loved, while evergreens provide just enough landscape to anchor the composition. But the real stars are those oxen, painted with the same bold, straightforward technique that defined her mature work. No shadows, no subtle gradations—just brilliant color applied with those characteristic rectilinear brushstrokes that her arthritis shaped into signature style.
Lewis painted from memory and imagination, drawing on childhood recollections and the occasional glimpses she caught during her infrequent trips to town with Everett in their Model T. She created a world where seasons could blend, where autumn leaves might appear in winter scenes, and where the rural life she cherished continued unchanged. In 1964, she was still working in that tiny one-room cottage in Marshalltown, painting on whatever boards Everett cut for her, using boat enamel and whatever paint she could gather.
The oxen series holds special significance in Lewis's body of work. While she painted hundreds of variations on her favorite themes—cats, covered bridges, boats in harbor—the oxen paintings maintained remarkable popularity with collectors from the 1940s through her final years. Each painting differs slightly from the last, proving she wasn't simply copying a formula but genuinely engaging with her subject every single time. No two works are exactly the same.
This 1964 example comes from the heart of her most productive period, when her technique had fully matured and her distinctive vision was completely realized. The colors are strong and confident—that brilliant red harness, those golden bells, the crisp white snow, the deep green pines. Everything works together to create a scene that's both documentary and deeply nostalgic, capturing a way of life that was slipping away even as she painted it.
These oxen represent more than farm animals. They embody the close connection between people and animals that Lewis held dear, the beautiful craftsmanship of harness-making that honored her father's profession, and the Maritime work ethic that valued strength, reliability, and quiet dignity. When oxen appeared in her paintings—whether hauling logs through forests or standing peacefully in snowy fields—they carried the weight of memory and tradition.
This museum-quality Giclee reproduction captures every nuance of Lewis's bold palette and distinctive brushwork. The gold bells gleam, the red harnesses shine, and the winter landscape maintains that perfect flatness that makes her work so immediately recognizable and endlessly appealing.
Perfect for anyone who treasures Canadian folk art, Maritime heritage, winter landscapes, or simply wants their home filled with the warmth and nostalgia that Lewis painted into every panel. These oxen stand as proud reminders that beauty exists in honest work, in traditions worth preserving, and in the small moments of everyday life transformed into art.
Bring home a piece of rural Nova Scotia's soul. Let these decorated oxen remind you that the simplest subjects, painted with love and memory, can create images of enduring power and appeal.