I love a good mystery. They are one of my favorite genres. Here is a real life mystery, sadly brief in detail but broad in guesswork. I appeal to you to delve into early memories for a solution to the puzzle – if, in fact, a solution even exists.

 Folk art has been popular among collectors for many years, although early in the 20^th century there were only a few that recognized the importance of this naive, often unrestrained, sometimes simplistic style of art. Many folk artists didn’t bother to sign their works; maybe they didn’t view it as “serious art,” worthy of a signature. Biddeford and/or Saco may have been the home of one of those artists.

In 1985, an eminent scholar of folk art, director of the American Folk Art Museum in New York (an expert, right?) Robert Bishop mentioned in his book “American Folk Sculpture” an artist who carved animals, mostly birds, “Bernier was a lumberman who took up wood carving after he was injured in an accident. Only a few pieces of his are known.” 

He also reported that Bernier lived in the Saco/Biddeford area around 1900. Most of his known bird sculptures are relatively small, six to 12 inches tall, often with feathers cut sharply into the wood, and bright colored paint that has cracked quite a lot. 

The Saco Museum has a couple of “Bernier” works in the collection, and would love to have more, but what would be even better is to discover more about the elusive artist. Robert Bishop passed away in 1991, and took with him to the grave the source of his very brief bit of information about the artist. Why did he think Bernier was a lumberman? Why did he believe that he came from around here? How could he even be sure that Bernier was his last name?

We have searched census records from 1860 to 1930, closely examined city directories, talked to local historians, and written to all the Berniers in the York County telephone directories, but not come up with even one more scrap of information about this talented artist. In the museum file we have a photocopy of a photograph of a middle-aged man standing behind a table covered with small wooden sculptures – is this Bernier? A few weeks ago, we were contacted by an owner of a Bernier sculpture. She remembered her mother purchasing the bird from a man selling pieces from a cart, in the 1950s. This would, of course, make Bernier’s work much more recent than Robert Bishop believed it to be. It would also place Bernier well within living memory.  

 So…we’re searching for a man who may or may not have been named Bernier, who may or may not have been an injured lumberman, and may or may not have lived in Saco or Biddeford, around 1900 or even 50 years later. In fact, just about the only thing we know for sure was that some person was a talented carver who created unique, charming, striking carvings. The question for you is – who was this person? What can you offer to solve the mystery?  Be sure to call us with any clues, and stop by the see A Treasured Ten: A Decade of Collecting at the Saco Museum, opening July 5, to view the mystery man’s wonderful work.

Leslie Rounds is director at Dyer Library in Saco.