Walter Allward, Sketch for Vimy Memorial, pencil on paper. Courtesy of Queen's University Archives, Walter Seymour Allward fonds
Exhibitions
Vimy and After: the Drawings by Walter Seymour Allward
Historical Feature and R. Fraser Elliott Galleries
1 May - 26 June 2005
Following World War I, when the commission for the great Canadian Battlefields Memorial in Vimy, France, was awarded to Canadian sculptor Walter Allward (1876-1955), he immediately established a studio in England and spent the next 15 years travelling between England and France in a struggle to realize the mammoth memorial. This heroic sculptural complex was unveiled, finally in July 1936 in front of 6000 Canadians by King Edward VIII (his only official appearance as king), and recently re-entered the limelight through Jane Urquhart's novel The Stone Carvers. Allward completed other war memorials in Peterborough and Stratford; however, his career languished following his great triumph at Vimy. During World War II, Allward lived in dread that Nazis might destroy the memorial.
This exhibition brought together for the first time a fascinating group of drawings by Allward related to the Vimy Memorial, including allegorical drawings on war themes produced during World War II. The drawings gave shape to Allward's thoughts and creative process. The exhibition was curated by Canadian artist Tony Urquhart, whose well-known skills as a draughtsman attracted him to the hitherto unexamined treasure trove of drawings. The exhibition was organized and circulated by Gallery Stratford.
Dorothy Farr
Special thanks to Frances K. Smith for her support of this exhibition