The 2016 film Maudie, which tells the biographical story of the remarkable Canadian artist, naturally takes a number of creative liberties. Films like this are never shot exactly as events unfolded in real life - otherwise the story would be dull to watch.
However, I was intrigued to learn that Richard Nixon actually bought paintings from Maud Lewis. The film highlights this fact twice. First, Maud Lewis (played by Sally Hawkins) says she received a letter from Vice President Nixon:
However, I was intrigued to learn that Richard Nixon actually bought paintings from Maud Lewis. The film highlights this fact twice. First, Maud Lewis (played by Sally Hawkins) says she received a letter from Vice President Nixon:
- Got a letter today. From... Vice President Nixon.
- What did he want?
- A painting.
- A painting?
- Mm-hmm. Unless he sends money for a painting I won't send him any.
- What did he want?
- A painting.
- A painting?
- Mm-hmm. Unless he sends money for a painting I won't send him any.
Next in the film, journalists film a news report near Maud Lewis's house. And the reporter says:
- Maud Lewis has been an artist most of her life. Her paintings have even been sold to Vice President Nixon.
I decided to double-check the facts. Maud Lewis died in July 1970. Richard Nixon served as President of the United States from January 20, 1969, to August 9, 1974. But he had been Vice President all the way back from January 20, 1953, to January 20, 1961. The timeline checks out here, though it's worth remembering that Nixon was in the U.S., while Lewis lived in Canada, in Nova Scotia.
The Canadian Encyclopedia also states:
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/maud-lewis
But! There's also another article there that says:
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paying-tribute-to-painter-maud-lewis
So, it seems the film embellished things just a little: the letter wasn't actually written by Nixon himself, but by his aide, John Whitaker. However, the fact that her paintings were - or still are - in the White House does check out.
That said, there are no reliable sources confirming that Richard Nixon himself was a fan of Maud's work. It's more likely that someone on the president's staff liked her paintings, but Nixon himself never said anything about her or wrote any letters.
The Canadian Encyclopedia also states:
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/maud-lewis
Interest in her work grew to such an extent that her patrons included US President Richard Nixon, whose office commissioned two paintings from her.
But! There's also another article there that says:
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paying-tribute-to-painter-maud-lewis
The publicity brought a flood of requests for Lewis’s work during the last years of her life. Her most prominent customer: the Richard Nixon White House, which, through aide John Whitaker, commissioned two paintings. Unimpressed with — or unaware of — whom she was dealing with, Lewis agreed to do the pieces as long as she was paid up front.
So, it seems the film embellished things just a little: the letter wasn't actually written by Nixon himself, but by his aide, John Whitaker. However, the fact that her paintings were - or still are - in the White House does check out.
That said, there are no reliable sources confirming that Richard Nixon himself was a fan of Maud's work. It's more likely that someone on the president's staff liked her paintings, but Nixon himself never said anything about her or wrote any letters.
