February 14, 2024
Major exhibition and sale of Maud Lewis artwork opens Feb. 15 at Mayberry Fine Art,
coinciding with launch of Mayberry’s latest business expansion -- all-inclusive estate services
WINNIPEG -- When the executors of three estates – in New Brunswick, Ontario and the eastern U.S.
–recently entrusted Mayberry Fine Art to manage the disposition of collections of Maud Lewis artworks,
that validated the gallery’s decision to expand its operations to offer all-inclusive estate services pertaining to fine art.
Coinciding with the February 15 to March 9 exhibition and sale of 30 works by the renowned Canadian
artist at its Exchange District gallery, Mayberry is launching its expanded business line and putting its new,
expansive warehouse-workshop-shipping facility into operation.
Having witnessed the ever-growing shift of possessions from one generation to the next, Mayberry Fine Art
decided to purchase and outfit a facility in Winnipeg that would enable it to lend its expertise, advice and
services to more people tasked with the complexities of disbursing estate collections of fine art.
Mayberry’s latest venture – Mayberry Art Services -- is the only one of its kind in Canada.
“As the transfer of wealth and property from older to younger generations continues, figuring out what to do with
treasured possessions accumulated over a lifetime, particularly collections of fine art, is a dilemma more and
more people are facing,” Shaun Mayberry explained.
Among the rarest items from the collections showcased in Transitioning Treasures – Paintings by Maud Lewis are a
painted dustpan and seven paintings on scallop shells.
Exhibition works range in price from $6,500 to $45,000. Services provided to the executors of the three Maud Lewis collections included determination of the market value of the art, recommendations regarding disbursement,
shipping, restoration and framing, insurance and marketing.
Bill Mayberry noted, “With our new facility, we can offer our white-glove service to more people -- whether that’s
an estate executor, family members and beneficiaries or banks, trust companies and law firms. We’ll assess value and help them choose the most appropriate strategy for navigating the disbursement process successfully and confidently.”
The climate-controlled, concrete and steel building, with reinforced and fire-secure vaults for ultra-high-
end artworks, will also allow Mayberry to offer more clients short- and long-term general and secured
storage solutions required for various reasons at various times in their lives.
Black Cat and Kittens, painted dustpan, 1968
Mayberry’s expertise and decades of experience in the art business are the cornerstones of its
expanded, all-inclusive estate services .
In recent years, Mayberry Fine Art has managed several estate art collections including those of well-
known Winnipeggers Greg Brodsky, Jim and Barbara Burns, and Kathleen Campbell.
The Mayberrys can advise on fine art sales strategies tailored to the needs of estates and beneficiaries.
That could include fixed-price sales as is happening with the Maud Lewis collections and happened with
Brodsky estate artworks, or public auction through highly respected auction house Cowley Abbott,
Mayberry Fine Art’s affiliate partner in Toronto.
Mayberry can also explain options and procedures for donating the proceeds of art sales to charitable
organizations -- the direction taken by the Burns family -- as well as the legacy opportunities that come
with donating art to appreciative institutions that will suitably honour the donation and its history.
Mayberry Art Services offers probate appraisals, value assessments, restoration, framing, museum-quality
crating, and advice on insurance options. It will handle the documentation and logistics for secure shipping
in Canada and abroad. In addition to fine art paintings and sculpture, other smaller items with significant
monetary and/or sentimental value, such as porcelain and antiques, will be accepted.
The Transitioning Treasures exhibit and sale features many artworks that family of the estate
executors purchased directly from Maud Lewis in the 1960s. (Exhibition online as of Feb. 10)
Lewis sold her paintings, commonly for $5, to people who enjoyed the naïve style in which she depicted
familiar scenes, people and animals. She painted daily to meet the perpetual demand for her work.
The delightful works in Transitioning Treasures – having been cherished by three collectors during their
lifetimes -- will now charm a new generation of Maud Lewis admirers.
“Maud never knew it, but she was the pioneer of folk art in Canada. She brought folk art into mainstream
Canadian art. Her talent and authenticity have transcended time,” Bill Mayberry said.
The 30 pieces showcased at Mayberry’s Exchange District gallery are priced from $6,500 to $45,000.
Mayberry has also produced and framed 20 archival pigment prints of four Transitioning Treasures
paintings. All proceeds from sales of the 80 Maud Lewis prints, each priced at $650, will go to CancerCare
Manitoba Foundation.
The market value of Lewis’s works is influenced by various factors including the rarity of the piece, as is the
case with the painted scallop shells and dustpan from the New Brunswick collection. The uncommonness
of these items is evident in the international art-sales index which recorded auction sales of just four shells
and one dustpan in the past 20 years. Almost 700 Maud Lewis paintings sold during that time.
“To my knowledge, there are no other Canadian artists whose works have increased in value like Maud’s
have -- from a few dollars to well into the five-figure range. It is truly the most amazing and unprecedented
rise in value that I’ve experienced in my 50 years in the art business,” Mayberry noted.
Transitioning Treasures – Paintings by Maud Lewis opens February 15 and runs until March 9 at Mayberry
Fine Art, 212 McDermot Avenue in Winnipeg.