The Trader

Once graduated in 1946, he taught sculpture and figure drawing at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee until 1951, followed by a position as a curator for the Montana Historical Society. He worked at the Smithsonian Institute as a Natural History Sculptor for six formative years, about which he said, the “scientists of the Smithsonian Institute have made me think of art as a way of life, a profession which should serve people, not as an ivory tower retreat of self fulfillment in which the artist himself and his identifying style is more important than the requirements of a job.” He moved to Edmonton, home to the largest collection of his artworks, in 1966 when he was hired by the Alberta Provincial Museum to sculpt numerous pieces for the opening of the new building in 1967. Eventually, he became a Canadian citizen and continued creating bronze sculpture from his home in Silver Creek, BC until he suffered a heart attack and died April 10, 2012.

This figurative bronze is an example of Commemorative Heroic Sculpture. The patron was Edmund H. McDougall who commissioned it in memory of his father, John A McDougall, and his mother, Louisa Jane. It follows the tenets of the monumental tradition. It is large in size, measuring 3 meters and placed on a pedestal of equal height. On the granite base of the sculpture are two sculpted bronze plaques educating the viewer about the historical figure, along with a frieze, emulating the appearance of a sarcophagus. The hero of the sculpture is Edmonton pioneer trader and political leader John A. McDougall, who became a successful business owner after he moved to Edmonton. With his partner, they opened McDougall and Secord in 1879, a fur trading business in competition with the Hudson’s Bay Company. He later served as mayor of Edmonton twice in 1897 and 1903, as well as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1909.