The rented cottage once was formerly occupied by deceased Maud Lewis and was on site in Smith’s Cove, near Digby Gut, Nova Scotia. 100-years-old it connects Annapolis Basin with the Bay of Fundy. The paintings are unique, partly because oxen are rare and iconic in this part of Atlantic Canada. The financial appraisal of the work is close to $80,000. Nova Scotia’s RCMP said the cottage break-in was unlike any they’d seen in the area. The Lewis paintings have doubled in value in recent months. International buyers try to collect Nova Scotian folk artist works. Maud Lewis would doubtless have been at the top. Possible thieves are aware of auction values of sharply rising artist works. For sure.
Alan Deacon, a Maud Lewis collector says the rise in value of Lewis’s work may cause some people to sell them fearing break-ins.