# Elizabeth Lefort

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{{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](/source/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](/source/Acadians) 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](/source/Point_Cross%2C_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](/source/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](/source/Dwight_D._Eisenhower) which was presented to the [White House](/source/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](/source/The_Last_Supper_(Leonardo_da_Vinci)).<ref name="MaterialCultureReview"/>

In 1975, she received an honorary [Docteur ès lettres](/source/Docteur_%C3%A8s_lettres) from the [Université de Moncton](/source/Universit%C3%A9_de_Moncton). In 1987, she was appointed a member of the [Order of Canada](/source/Order_of_Canada).<ref name="cwahi"/>

Lafort died in 2005 in [Chéticamp, Nova Scotia](/source/Ch%C3%A9ticamp%2C_Nova_Scotia).<ref name="cwahi"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elizabeth Lefort](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Lefort) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Lefort?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.