Elizabeth LeFort

Elizabeth LeFort

Born in 1914, Elizabeth LeFort learned to hook rugs at a very young age. In the early twenties, she was already hooking landscapes based on photos or illustrations that appealed to her. One of her pieces, made as a gift for her sister, featured a barnyard scene in 28 shades of brown. This tapestry was so fine that it caught the attention of a gift shop owner, Mr.Kenneth Hansford, who promptly offered to buy all of Elizabeth’s future work.

Elizabeth LeFort présente un tapis de Trudeau à Trudeau lui-même.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau examines his portrait in wool

Each summer, Elizabeth LeFort worked for Mr.Hansford, demonstrating rug making in his craft store in Margaree Harbour. She made hundreds of tapestries in a large variety of subjects including pastoral scenes, birds, animals and floral motifs. Elizabeth was so skillful at reproducing photographs that she began to create portraits in wool. Her portrait of American president Dwight Eisenhower was presented to him at the White House in 1957. She followed with a series of portraits including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, Jacqueline Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson, Prime Ministers Lester Pearson and John Diefenbaker, and Prince Charles. Consequently, her art has graced Buckingham Palace, the White House and Vatican City in Rome.

Tapis par Elizabeth LeFort
322 days in the making of this tapestry, 8 miles of yarn were used
and 2 million loops were hooked. The rug measures 3.0m x 2.5m

Always striving for more challenges, she completed a series of reproductions of religious paintings, including daVinci's “The Last Supper”, and scenes from the life of Jesus. Two large original works depicting important events in the history of Canada and the United States leave no doubt as to her sense of design and her mastery of the craft.

Elizabeth LeFort, Chéticamp's most famous artist in wool, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Université de Moncton in 1975 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1987.