Albert
McTaggert Campbell was the first Mayor of Scarborough, Reeve, and Chairman
of Toronto Metro Council. He saw and admired this sculpture in the
Milles Sculpture Garden in Sweden. "The Hand of God" represented
his view on life: "Man can best achieve his goals by placing himself in
the Hand of God". This is a striking bronze and steel work of art.
Carl
Milles:
Carl
Milles (1875-1955) is Sweden's most famous sculptor. He was one of Rodin's
assistants in Paris, was well-traveled and influenced by many sources,
and he became an American citizen in 1945. His works can be found all over
the world. Many can be seen in Millesgåden, a wonderful outdoor museum
in Lindigö, one of the northern islands in Stockholm.
Biography:
Carl
Milles (Carl Emil Wilhelm Andersson) was born on June 23, 1875 at Örby
in Lagga near Uppsala. In 1892 he learned the trade of a cabinet
maker and studied woodwork, carving and modelling at the Stockholm Technical
School.
In
1897 he was awarded a prize of 200 kronor by the Swedish Society of Arts
and Crafts and was invited to go to Chile to help manage a school in Swedish
gymnastics. He never made it to Chile but stayed in Paris where he
supported himself and worked with Auguste Rodin. In his spare time
he attended lectures at the Colarossi Academy.
In
1899 his first work was exhibited. He travelled extensively through
Germany, Holland and Belgium and settled 1904 in Munich. One year
later he married Olga Granner (1874 –1967), portrait painter, from Austria.
From
1906 - 1908 he returned to Sweden received major commissions and became
a member of the Royal Academy of Art. The exhibition of Milles' works
in 1914 at the Baltic Exhibition in Malmö earned him widespread acclaim
and recognition.
In
1920 he was elected Professor of Modelling at the Royal Academy of Art,
Stockholm.
In
1923 his works were given a prominent place in Tercentenary Exhibition
at Göteborg.
1925
he was warded the Gold Medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts
Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes à Paris.
Further
exhibitions of his work happened in rapid succession in London, Lübeck
and Hamburg.
By
1931 he was appointed resident sculptor and head of Department of Sculpture,
Cranbrook Academy of Art,
Bloomfield
Hills, Michigan. His first comprehensive American exhibition of work happened
in St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit and New York.
In
1935 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters conferred
by Yale University.
In
1936 he made Millesgården a foundation and donated it to the Swedish
people.
In
1938 he was awarded gold medals by the American Institute of Architecture
and the Architectural League of New York.
In
1940 he was elected honorary member of the Royal Academy, London.
In
1943 he received the Award of Merit of the American Academy of Arts and
Letters.
In
1945 he and his wife Olga became American citizens.
In
1948 Milles' collection of antiquities was acquired by the Swedish State.
In
1951 he moved to Rome, where the American Academy offered him a studio.
The summers were spent at his home at Millesgården.
In
1955 he received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from the Stockholm University.
When
he was eighty in 1955 he received the Founder 's Medal of Cranbrook
Shortly
after he died in his home in Millesgården in September 1955.
His
work and his life story can be viewed at many websites. Visit the
following sites to get to know Cal Milles better:
http://www.millesgarden.se/dokument/engelska/carlmilleseng.html
http://www.photo.net/sweden/stockholm/milles |
Outdoor Art in Toronto
Scarborough
