William McElcheran
WILLIAM MCELCHERAN "MAN WITH MUSE" BRONZE, 1989
William McElcheran (1927-1999) was an accomplished sculptor, draftsman, and designer of the 20th Century Canadian art world.
With a professional career in architectural design, McElcheran began his artistic output creating classical sculptures and furniture. His later work as a liturgical designer for an architectural firm led him to design churches and university buildings. In the mid-1960s, he withdrew from liturgical commissions and began to exhibit his secular work, to great acclaim and success.
The Businessman is a motif that recurs throughout McElcheran's output from the mid-1960s onward. The artist wanted to portray an everyday icon--as opposed to the larger-than-life heroes of classical art--who would express the modern human condition. He describes his businessmen as a sort of Everyman, or ubiquitous non-hero.
Clad in thigh-length coats, ties, hats, and often armed with a briefcase or umbrella, McElcheran's businessmen are fairy homogenized as an archetype. Their humanity appears in their faces, with expressions and gestures that animate and narrate their stories.
Emitting fluidity and movement, this sculpture is whimsical and playful. Frozen mid-stride, the businessman seems to acknowledge some unseen presence nearby. With an inquisitive face and a raised hand, he senses some influence from the figure that floats over his right shoulder. Offering inspiration and guidance, the muse over the man's shoulder holds her hand forward as she stares down at her subject, leading him to where he was meant to be. The businessman's humanism permeates his apparent monotony, as he is influenced by the muse on his shoulder.
McElcheran's last decade produced a number of major commissions in Canada, Japan, and Italy, including two twenty-foot high marble reliefs at WaterPark Place in Toronto, a sculpted wall in the Dundas St. subway station in Toronto, among many other pieces of public sculpture. His sculpture The Family has been adopted as a symbol of Guelph, ON.
Questions about this piece? Contact us, call +1.416.704.1720, or visit our Toronto gallery.
Man with Muse
Canada, 1989
Bronze sculpture
11.75"H 5"W 8.5"D
Initialed "WMc" numbered "5/9" and dated "89" on top of base
From an edition of 9
Very good condition
Note: the price is $4,000 CAD
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