Walter Seymour Allward

Walter Seymour Allward was a Canadian sculptor. He was born on November 18, 1874, and died on April 24, 1955. He is most famous for creating the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, a special monument that honors soldiers who fought in World War I. His work often showed expressive figures and mixed classic and modern styles. His sculptures explore themes like memory, sacrifice, and hope.

One of his early famous works is the Bell Telephone Memorial, made in 1917. This helped him become well-known and led to him designing the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. Some of his artworks are displayed in the National Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

During the beginning of World War II, Allward made about one hundred meaningful drawings about war. Though he was famous during his life, many people forgot about him after his death in 1955. Interest in him returned when he appeared in the novel The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart in 2001.

Early life

Walter Seymour Allward was born in Toronto. His parents were John A. Allward and Emma Pittman from Newfoundland. He went to public schools in Toronto. When he was 14, he started working with his father, who was a carpenter. Later, he learned from the architectural firm Gibson and Simpson. He then worked at the Don Valley Brick Works, where he made designs for buildings. There, he showed great skill in shaping clay. These early experiences, along with classes at the New Technical School, helped prepare him for his future career as a sculptor.

Body of works

Early work

Walter Seymour Allward's first job was to make a statue named Peace for the Memorial of the Battles in the North-West in Queen's Park in Toronto in 1895. He got this job when he was only nineteen, even though he had little training. Other early works include a big statue of Dr Oronhyatekha made for the opening of the Temple Building in Toronto in 1899, and a statue called Old Soldier remembering the War of 1812, placed in what is now Victoria Memorial Square in 1903. In 1903, he became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy, and later a full member in 1918. He also made portraits of important people like Lord Tennyson, Sir Charles Tupper, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. You can see statues of General John Graves Simcoe and Sir Oliver Mowat in Queen's Park too, which he finished in 1903 and 1905.

Heroic monuments

Walter Seymour Allward became famous for making big, important statues. Some of his best works include the design for the Boer War Memorial Fountain in Windsor, Ontario in 1906, the South African War Memorial in Toronto in 1910, and the Baldwin-Lafontaine Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1914. He also designed the Bell Memorial in Brantford, Ontario in 1917 to honor Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone. Allward had started work on a memorial for King Edward VII, but World War I stopped him from finishing it. Two statues called Veritas (Truth) and Iustitia (Justice) that were meant for that memorial were found much later and placed outside the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. He also made many memorials in towns across Canada, like the Stratford Memorial in 1922 and the Peterborough Memorial in 1929.

Bell Memorial

Main article: Bell Telephone Memorial

In 1906, people from Brantford and Brant County wanted to build a memorial to celebrate Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone in 1874. They asked Walter Seymour Allward to design it, and his idea was chosen from ten different plans. The memorial was supposed to be ready by 1912, but it wasn’t finished until 1917. The Governor General of Canada, Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, officially opened it on October 24, 1917.

Allward’s design showed how the telephone could connect people far apart. Steps lead to the main part where statues tell a story. There is a figure called Inspiration above another called Man, the inventor, and other figures like Knowledge, Joy, and Sorrow at the far end. At each side of the memorial stand two figures representing Humanity, one sending a message and the other receiving it.

The Bell Telephone Memorial is one of Allward’s best early works and made him very famous. It is an important part of Brantford and is used for many special events.

Vimy Memorial

Main article: Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Walter Seymour Allward’s most famous work is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. He worked on it from 1921 until it was unveiled on July 26, 1936, by King Edward VIII. About 100,000 people were there, including many veterans and their families. The memorial became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. After a big repair job costing $30 million, it was rededicated on April 9, 2007.

Allward made 150 designs before his plan was chosen. The memorial stands on Hill 145 in France, a place given by France just for this. Allward spent almost two years looking for the perfect stone. He found a special kind of limestone called Seget limestone from an old Roman quarry in Croatia. The memorial uses a strong concrete frame with the limestone attached to it. There are twenty large statues showing ideas like love, faith, honor, hope, justice, knowledge, peace, and truth. The first statue finished was called Canada Bereft, showing a sad woman, and it is very famous.

The memorial also has the names of Canadians who died in France and have no known graves. Building it took a long time because of the huge amount of stone, the need to clear mines, and many other challenges. The project cost about $1.5 million.

Works

Honours

In 1944, Walter Seymour Allward was honored as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for his work in Canadian art. He was also part of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. On June 30, 1938, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King praised Allward in front of the House of Commons of Canada. He said that Allward’s design of the Vimy Memorial was a beautiful and special piece of art. The memorial stands as a symbol of Canada’s efforts and honors those who fought for freedom. Allward is an important figure in Canada’s heritage.

Legacy

Walter Allward's artwork is still remembered today through many important monuments and designs in Canada and other countries. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1903. One of his bronze works from 1920, called The Storm, is displayed at the National Gallery of Canada. He is also a character in Jane Urquhart's book The Stone Carvers.