I like these businessmen by William McElcheran so much. This one can be found at the University of Toronto and there is another one on Cumberland Street in Yorkville. There are several others around Toronto that I am going to try to find.
You can find this sculpture in the Brennan Hall courtyard, 81 St. Mary Street, St. Michael's College, University of Toronto.
The sculpture is currently fenced-in on two sides. I don't know why this was put up and don't know if it is going to be a permanent addition - I hope not.
"Business Man on a Horse
William McElcheran
Bronze, 9' high. In Business Man on a Horse, William McElcheran presented us with the now famous figure of his befuddled businessman awkwardly seated on his "trusted steed."
The work seems to bring the viewer into a kind of shared compassionate joke. McElcheran's self-important businessman has trouble seeing himself as the contemporary descendant of the triumphant returning war leaders of the past, who would be the traditional subject of a historic horse-and-rider sculpture. As many critics have noted however, McElcheran's subjects are not just the target of his jokes, they are also under his protection: "We get a sharp sense that each of these figures is cared for by the sculptor, wrapped in an unseen cocoon and that we, as viewers, are being asked to care for them too."
About William McElcheran
He was born in 1927 in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1947 he graduated from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal. As the chief designer for Bruce Brown and Brisely Architects, he planned and designed 23 churches and university buildings. In 1973 he formed Deaduls Designs, a company dedicated to the integration of decorative sculpture within architectural planning. His famous businessmen with pork pie hats are found in corporate collections all over the world and reflect his philosophy of "New Humanism" in both style and utility. He has produced public commissions in Canada, the USA, Germany, Italy, and Japan. William McElcheran was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy. He died in 1998."
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