Matthew Farfan

Folk art is a general term that can be said to describe art that has been produced by men and women with little or no artistic training. It is the product of natural, if unrefined talent. Often with little regard for realistic size, scale, and perspective, folk art represents the artist's effort to record the people, animals, objects, scenes, or events of everyday life. It takes many forms: wood-carving, painting, drawing, embroidery - virtually every medium of artistic expression. The results are authentic recreations of the artist's surroundings - charming in their simplicity and lack of pretension.

Mrs. Wright Chamberlin, Oil on canvas, c.1830s. (Photo: Colby-Curtis Museum)	Folk carving of a circus wagon, by Charles and Florence Millard, 1920s. (Photo: Missisquoi Museum)
Folk carving by Louis-Émile Beauregard. (Photo: Maison de la culture de Dudswell)	Embroidery of Adam and Eve, c.1840. (Photo: Brome County Museum)

Folk art traditions are strong in the Eastern Townships, as evidenced by the collections of several museums in the region.