{{Short description|Canadian artist (1914–2005)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Elizabeth Lefort | honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CM|size=100%}} | image = Photo of Elizabeth Lefort.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date text|1914}} | birth_place = Point Cross, Canada | death_date = {{Death year and age|2005|1914}} | death_place = Chéticamp, Canada | nationality = | education = | field = Tapestry | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | awards = Order of Canada {{small|(1987)}} | spouse = Kenneth Hansford }}
'''Elizabeth Lefort''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CM}} (1914–2005) was a Canadian tapestry artist of Acadian descent, known for replicating photographs including portraits.<ref name="MaterialCultureReview">{{cite journal|last1=Sanchini|first1=Laura|title=Elizabeth LeFort: Canada's Artist in Wool/L'artiste canadienne de la laine. (book Review)|journal=Material Culture Review|date=2010|volume=72|issue=Fall|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/18726/20477|accessdate=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502180603/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/18726/20477|archive-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Biography== Elizabeth Lefort was born in 1914 in Point Cross, Nova Scotia.<ref name="cwahi">{{cite web|title=Lefort, Elizabeth|url=https://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=5396|website=Canadian Women Artists History Initiative|accessdate=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108042736/http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=5396|archive-date=8 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1926, at the age of 12 she left school to begin her career and bring in needed income for her family.<ref name="LesTroisPignons">{{cite web|title=Élizabeth LeFort|url=https://www.lestroispignons.com/elizabeth-lefort-rugs/|website=Les Trois Pignons|publisher=La Société Saint-Pierre|accessdate=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113060321/https://www.lestroispignons.com/elizabeth-lefort-rugs/|archive-date=13 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Lefort learned the craft of rug hooking from her mother.<ref name="cwahi"/> This craft has strong roots in Cape Breton.<ref name="ArtsNorth">{{cite web|title=Hooking|url=http://www.arts-north.com/hooking|website=Arts North|accessdate=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113112913/http://www.arts-north.com/hooking|archive-date=13 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
Lefort showed particular proficiency and around 1940 began following her own vision of design, by meticulously copying a postcard she received from her brother in England.<ref name="LesTroisPignons"/> Not only was the rug an artistic success, it sold for a higher price than the more traditional designs.<ref name="LesTroisPignons"/> To achieve the desired effect, Lefort dyed the wool she used to the specific colors she wanted.<ref name="cwahi"/>
Lefort continued her work, championed by owner of a local crafts store, Kenneth Hansford, and she became the artist-in-residence at the ''Paul Pix Boutique'' in Margaree Harbour, Nova Scotia. Lefort and Hansford eventually married.<ref name="LesTroisPignons"/><ref name="cwahi"/>
In 1957, Lefort completed a tapestry portrait of U.S. President Eisenhower which was presented to the White House.<ref name="LesTroisPignons"/><ref name="cwahi"/>
Lefort continued producing portraits and also often used religious subjects, including a tapestry reproduction of da Vinci's Last Supper.<ref name="MaterialCultureReview"/>
In 1975, she received an honorary Docteur ès lettres from the Université de Moncton. In 1987, she was appointed a member of the Order of Canada.<ref name="cwahi"/>
Lafort died in 2005 in Chéticamp, Nova Scotia.<ref name="cwahi"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefort, Elizabeth}} Category:1914 births Category:2005 deaths Category:20th-century Canadian painters Category:Artists from Nova Scotia Category:Tapestry artists Category:20th-century Canadian textile artists Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:20th-century Canadian women painters Category:20th-century Canadian women textile artists Category:Acadian artists