Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, CM, O.Ont (7 November 1913 – 23 February 2009) 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 ...

portrait

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

designer, and

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

artist.

Education and training

Born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, on November 7, 1913, Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook was the great-great-granddaughter of the Hon. John Willson, the first speaker for the House in Upper Canada. Holbrook studied at the Hamilton Art School (1928–31), Ontario College of Art (1932–35),

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London, England (1936) and at

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...

in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (1948). She studied with such artists as Hortense Gordon, John S. Gordon,

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...

, Gustav Hahn, Emanuel Hahn, Rowley Murphy, and

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedes, Swedish sculpture, sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the ...

. She was a lecturer in Sculpture at the Dundas Valley School of Art from 1965 to 1969., at the Burlington Cultural Centre from 1990-1993 and at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

, Faculty of Arts in Hamilton, Ontario from 1995-1999. Holbrook’s portrait sculptures are represented in over 50 public collections worldwide.

Subjects

Holbrook's subjects included HM Queen Elizabeth II;

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for speci ...

;

Ellen Fairclough Ellen Louks Fairclough (; January 28, 1905 – November 13, 2004) was a Canadian politician. A Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1950 to 1963, she was the first woman ever to serve in the Canadian Cabinet ...

;

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

; Emanuel Hahn;

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

; among many others. Her works include the bronze 24' standing figure of a

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

cadet 1979 (later known as ‘Brucie’), which was a gift of the Royal Military College Club. She also produced a bronze bust of Colonel

George Stanley Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley (July 6, 1907September 13, 2002) was a Canadian author, soldier, historian at Mount Allison University, public servant, and designer of the Canadian Flag. Early life and education George F. G. Stanley was ...

, a former Royal Military College professor, who designed the Canadian Flag. For the Federal Building, Hamilton, Ontario, she completed eight large mezzo relief stone panels depicting wildlife and industry. In 1996, she completed a sculpture of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

for the then-new plaza in

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

. Her last commissioned sculptures were of

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...

and his wife Barbara Amiel created in 2000 and 2002 respectively.

Death

Holbrook died of natural causes in Hamilton on February 23, 2009. She is buried at St. John's Anglican Church, Ancaster, Ontario alongside her husband "Jack" Holbrook and her son William "Billy" Holbrook. The family is interred next to a liturgical headstone designed by Holbrook.

Influenced

Holbrook mentored and influenced Canadian sculptor Christian Cardell Corbet.

Memberships

* Order of Canada * Royal Canadian Academy of Arts * Ontario Society of Artists * Sculptors' Society of Canada * Canadian Portrait Academy, 1997 – Founding Member * Order of Ontario * International Art Medal Association (FIDEM) * Medallic Art Society of Canada * Canadian Group of Art Medallists

Awards and honours

* 1935 Awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Painting at the Ontario College of Art (second recipient) * 1969 Awarded the Gold Medal for Portraiture from National Sculpture Society of New York * 1977 Awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal * 1987 Awarded "Woman of the Year in the Arts" from the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada * 1994 Awarded Member Hamilton Hall of Distinction * 1982 Awarded the Ontario Society of Arts Award * 1992 Awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal * 1996 Appointment as Fellow,

Ontario College of Art & Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...

* 1997 Appointment to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

* 1997 Appointment as Officer 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 ...

* 1997 Awarded Honorary Doctorate by McMaster University IN 2024 Holbrook's Order of Canada Medal was sold at public auction for $6,250.00.

References

External links

Official websiteRepresentative'Elizabeth Holbrook's panels: sleek, simplified and modern', Jul 27, 2011 Hamilton Spectator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbrook, Elizabeth Bradford 1913 births 2009 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from Hamilton, Ontario Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario 20th-century Canadian sculptors 20th-century Canadian women artists