Equestrian Statue of Edward VII
Title: Equestrian Edward VII Queen's Park Statue
Artist(s): Thomas Brock
Date: 1921
Latitude: 43.66
Longitude: -79.39
ANALYSIS:
The statue representing King Edward VII, brought over from India as the memorable of making Queen’s Park, is currently well preserved. This equestrian statue is slightly bigger than other equestrian statues and weighs about five hundred pounds. Looking at the overall statue the plaque, it involves very creative designs including clams and flowers on the platform holding the heavy weighing bronze made sculpture. Furthermore, the details of the statue depict King Edward VII as an old man with boots, jacket and a hat representation of the warrior like and class shown by the British king. Elaborating on the style and composition of the statue, it represents Edward VII in a naturalistic manner. The posture and facial expression of Edward VII is what we would expect to see in everyday life as opposed to awkward postures and facial expressions seen in some of the Greek vases. In addition, the statue is very dynamic in that it seems to be in the middle of a movement. The overall vertical frame of the statue brings the audiences' attention to the upper body of Edward VII. There are quite a few notable features from the statue, one of which being the decoration on the platform. It is a repetitive, yet delicate pattern of swords, flowers, and clams. In arts, swords commonly symbolize power, the clam symbolizes wealth and beauty. Also throughout history, flowers were used to symbolize elegance and royalty. Given the royal status of Edward VII, it is reasonable that these attributes were used to decorate the platform. Another notable feature is the degree of detail to which Thomas Brock describes Edward VII. Throughout the statue, one can discover the evidence of detailed description, such as aiguillette and medals on the uniform, the face of Edward VII, and the decoration on the saddle. These details make the statue a lot more realistic and natural. Also, it is worth noting that the detailed representation is reasonable given Brock’s experience of working with different royalties and nobles. Thomas Brock, the English sculptor also a full member of the Royal Academy was the father of arts during the 19th century to early 20th century for Britain. It took him several years building the statue as the remembrance of the king Edward who was known as the peacemaker and well worshiped at the time. Although, he had lots of other famous works such as the Queen Victoria Monument, Carlisle, The Black Prince, Statue of Queen Victoria, Bangalore it is no doubt that the King Edward VII statue was one of the biggest equestrian statue of all time and is remembered as one of the greatest art made by the sculptor.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION:
he five-ton equestrian statue of King Edward VII now found in Queen's Park was brought over from India on January 16, 1969. The reign of the statue’s subject, King Edward VII, was a short one lasting from 1901 to his own death in 1910. Prior to this, he toured North America, arriving in Toronto as the eighteen-year old Prince of Wales in September of 1860. The Prince formally opened "Queen's Park" and laid the foundation stone for a new statue of his mother Queen Victoria upon his arrival on Tuesday September 11, 1860. This equestrian statue was commissioned by the All-India Memorial Committee in July of 1910 in commemoration of the King. The artist responsible, Thomas Brock, was an established English sculptor who placed renewed emphasis on naturalistic representation. Delayed by the bronze shortage of WWI, the statue was completed in 1921 and unveiled in Delhi in 1922. Almost fifty years later, when the Indian government wished to rid themselves of reminders of British rule, it was donated to the Parks and Recreation Committee of Toronto. Fundraising for the equestrian statue came fairly easily. Many citizens were willing to donate for the cause with approximately $10 coming in from each person. Seeing as the statue was a gift from India to the City of Toronto, many immigrants felt a strong duty to help raise funds for the statue. They hosted an event called "India Night" to help raise thousands for the cause. Overall, the statue ended up costing the city $18,000, leaving behind $1000 in surplus for future maintenance expenses. Toronto's Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ivan Forrest was the one to recommend Queen's Park as the site for the statue. However, transporting the equestrian statue to Toronto presented quite a challenge. In order for proper shipping, the statue had to be cut up into 4 separate parts. Kildare (the horse) had to be cut into two pieces consisting of the body and the head. King Edward VII's head also had to be removed in order to fit under railway bridges. The completed statue was first revealed in a small ceremony on May 24, 1969. The City had the public's full support for the creation of the statue with "8 to 2 in favour of the statue" (Mayor Dennison). However, over the years, there have been many incidents of disrespect towards the statue. Several acts of vandalism have been reported, mostly in the form of painting testicles on the horse. Also, Mayor Dennison had notably requested to make the statue unclimbable, but there have been several reports of kids playing on Kildare’s legs and using the statue as a jungle gym.
