Eleven original paintings by the acclaimed 20th-century Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis (1903-80) sold for a combined $559,510 in an online-only Canadiana and Folk Art auction held Oct. 8 by Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd., based in New Hamburg, Ontario. Overall, 344 lots came up for bid in the auction, which grossed a robust $871,695. All figures quoted in this report are in Canadian dollars. Of the 11 Lewis paintings in the auction, Winter Sleigh Ride was an expected top earner, with a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$25,000. It ended up selling for $100,300. The signed, ca. 1955, 9-by-11 inch mixed media-on-beaverboard was a snowy winter Christmas season scene, similar to a later image used for a series of Canadian postage stamps. Maud Lewis was one of Canadas most renowned artists, the subject of numerous monographs, novels, plays, documentaries, and even a feature film. She was born into relative comfort and obscurity and died in poverty, though enjoying national fame. She overcame severe physical challenges to create a unique artistic style and sparked a boom in folk art in her home province. Though she rarely left her tiny house, Lewiss works have travelled around the world, and in the decades since her death she has become an iconic figure of Nova Scotia and a beloved character in the popular imagination. She painted many different vehicles that were part of her life and were the inspirations for many of her subjects. Fellow Canadian artist John H. Kinnear corresponded with Lewis from the time she became famous, in the 1960s, until her death in 1980, acting as her de facto agent. Kinnear would send her masonite boards, brushes and requested paints. Maud would send the finished paintings for Kinnear to sell, and he would send the proceeds to her home in Marshalltown. The simplicity and honesty of Canadian folk art by Maud Lewis, Joe Sleep and Joe Norris crushed high expectations, said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. Formal British underperformed, but the bright and optimistic works by the above mentioned surprised us. This sale was a compilation of three great collections, and the highlights in each performed well. What it proved to us is that collectors are willing to pay for documented pieces with firm provenance. The ca. 1975 oil-on-panel harbor scene by the late folk artist Joe Norris (1924-96), titled Lower Prospect (the town in Nova Scotia where Norris spent most of his life), signed and titled lower left, left the room for $7,080. Also, an oil-on-board rendering of flowers by another Nova Scotia artist, Joe Sleep (1914-78), 28.5 inches square and artist signed and dated (77) lower right, brought $6,490. Sleep learned to draw while hospitalized in Halifax. The rest of the auction was a market fresh offering of Canadiana and folk art, from some old collections. The backbone of the sale was built on the collection of world-class walking sticks and folk art carvings of Jim Fleming. Also up for bid was Canadiana and folk art from Marty Osler and items from the Susan Murray collection. An exquisite mixed media diorama by Adelard Brousseau of Quebec titled Maple Sugar Time (ca. 1930) finished at $10,620. It was a rendition of a traditional Quebec rural scene, measuring 36.5-by-21-by-24.5 inches wide. Brousseau achieved the diorama by meticulously carving, one by one, the figures, the tools and animals in the scene. An acrylic-on-paper by Canadian Woodland artist Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007), titled Ancestral Visitor, (1998) brought together many elements, such as spirits, a continuance of life in the body of one animal while showing a connection to other life and spirit forms. The signed work realized $11,800. Walking sticks from the Jim Fleming collection included a mid-19th century Eastern Canadian Maritimes carved walking stick made of marine ivory, baleen and narwhal tusk, with the handle carved in the form of a forearm with a closed hand, and the shaft carved with spiraled fluting, selling for $5,015. A late 19th-century Quebec carved, stained and painted pine gum box, book form with a drawer, boldly carved with three straps and leaf fronds, and a back with varied geometric carvings and crosses, changed hands for $9,440, while a stained birch Tree of Life carved gum box, spine carved Frank Martel, St. Jerome, 1910, one side carved with the Tree of Life and birds, the other side with chalice within an oval field, decorated with gold paint, hit $4,248. A seven-foot totem pole, created on Manitoulin Island around 1940, having an untouched surface and patina with vibrant colors, made by an unknown artist, went to a determined bidder for $7,670. Also, a mixed media on collage on black arches paper by Anne Meredith Barry (Canadian, 1932-2003), titled Travelling Vest #12, The Avalon in January (1987), incorporating bold colors, whimsical patterns and handwritten text, rose to $4,720. Internet bidding was via the Miller & Miller website (www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com), plus LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bids were also accepted. A total of 455 people registered to bid online, placing just under 8,000 cumulative bids; 99 percent of lots were sold, and 68 percent of the top 50 lots exceeded estimate. All prices include an 18-percent buyers premium. For more information, visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.