Rose Eleanor Milne (May 14, 1925 – May 17, 2014) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

sculptor best known for her work as the Dominion Sculptor of Canada, a position that she held from 1961 until her retirement in 1993.

Early life

Milne was born on May 14, 1925, in Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. Her father, William Harold Milne, was a

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

and her mother, Eleanor Mary Milne, was an artist. Milne struggled to learn how to read as a child as a result of

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

. At the age of 11 she moved with her family to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, where her instructors included

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL.D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

and

Jacques de Tonnancour Jacques Godefroy de Tonnancour, LL. D. (3 January 1917 – 13 January 2005) was a Canadian artist and art educator from Montreal, Quebec. Life and work Jacques Godefroy de Tonnancour was born on 3 January 1917 in Montreal, Quebec. He studied a ...

, among others; she earned her degree in 1945. She next studied human

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

at McGill University School of Medicine. Further study followed under

John Farleigh John Farleigh CBE (16 June 1900 – 30 March 1965), also known as Frederick William Charles Farleigh, was an English wood-engraver, noted for his illustrations of George Bernard Shaw's work ''The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search fo ...

at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

in London, England. Milne also studied wood sculpture under

Sylvia Daoust Sylvia Daoust, Order of Canada, CM, National Order of Quebec, CQ RCA (May 24, 1902 – July 19, 2004) was a Canadian sculptor who was one of the first female sculptors in Quebec. She studied at the Council of Arts & Manufactures and the Éco ...

at the

École des beaux-arts de Montréal École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, and apprenticed for a time under

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...

Career

In 1961 Milne was appointed Dominion Sculptor of Canada. The first woman to hold the position, she was selected over nearly 20 other applicants. During her career, which lasted until her retirement in 1993, she completed for the

Centre Block The Centre Block () is the main building of the Parliament of Canada, Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons and Senate of Canada, Senate chambers, as we ...

of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

a cycle of twelve stained-glass windows depicting the floral emblems of Canada's provinces and territories. She oversaw the restoration of the ceiling in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, and carved a 120-foot long frieze depicting the

history of Canada The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands encompassing present-day Canada have been inhabited for millennia by Indigenous peoples, with d ...

until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which was carved on site between 1962 and 1974. Although Milne was required to work within a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

framework, she worked to incorporate elements of Canadian history that went beyond stereotypical symbols like maple leaves or beavers. As Sandra Alfoldy explains: "In Milne's realistic approach to Canada's history, bored monarchs and exhausted explorers are bound in with the social injustices behind the founding of the country." She points to the narratives depicted in Milne's piece "History of Canada Frieze" which depicts the expulsion of Acadians in 1755 and positions Indigenous peoples as strong and positive social players as an example. In her role as Dominion Sculptor Milne created work for other government organizations as well, including the chair used by the speaker of the council of the Northwest Territories. At her retirement she was succeeded by Maurice Joanisse, who had begun his career as a carver under her tutelage. Milne also published wood engravings and illustrated books during her career. Later in life the art of carving became difficult for her, and she taught herself instead to create art using a computer. She was a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, to which she was named in 1988. Milne died at her

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

home on May 17, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Eleanor 1925 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Canadian sculptors 21st-century Canadian sculptors Artists from Montreal Artists from Saint John, New Brunswick McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Members of the Order of Canada People with dyslexia École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni 20th-century Canadian women sculptors 21st-century Canadian women sculptors