The Falcon - Ottawa, Ontario - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

This statue of the Falcon is a reproduction from an original created by Robert Tait McKenzie. The original sits on the terrace outside McGill University's McLennan Library, in Montreal, Quebec.

The text on the plaque reads as follows:

The Falcon
R Tait McKenzie

Reproduced with the kind permission of McGill University and Mr. John Stuart McKenzie

"John Webster (1901-1931), a leading aviation racer and the first Canadian to compete in the King’s Cup Air Race in Great Britain, July 193l, died tragically one month later in a crash at St. Hubert airfield, o u t s i d e M o n t r e a l , while practicing for an aerobatic competition in the Trans Canada Air Pageant. His distraught parents, Alice and Dr. John Clarence Webster (1863-1950), of Shediac, New Brunswick, wanting a memorial for their son, decided upon an aviation trophy in his name. They commissioned Robert Tait McKenzie (1867-1938), MD, CM (l892) an old friend of young Webster’s father (from his time as a lecturer at McGill, 1896- 1899) to design the trophy.

In response to the Websters’ request, McKenzie proposed a trophy depicting a youthful
male with large wings, standing on a globe ready to fly. Completed in 1931 and called the “Triumph of Flight”, the Webster Memorial Trophy is a “bronze figure of the mythical Greek god, Icarus, and symbolically represents youth and flight”; the speed, daring, and courage of the modern aviator. Since 1932 the trophy has been presented symbolically at an annual ceremony to the top amateur Canadian aviator. No presentations were made between 1940 and 1946 due to World War II, nor between 1955 and 1979, due to financial concerns. Since 1980, the award ceremony has been supported by sponsors. The trophy resides in the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.

McKenzie liked the trophy so much that he experimented with a full- scale version, deciding finally upon a 1.2m high version with a 1.7m wing span. To perfect the wings and feathers he spent hours in a local zoo observing, taking notes, and drawing the wings of raptors. The statue, called “The Falcon,” was completed in 1931 and assumed great meaning for him according to this 1935 description:

“I have modeled the figure to express the perfect beauty of the youthful form and have tried to follow, in so doing, the great tradition of sculpture. The buoyant figure is framed by its four wings. They form an areola about it and give volume and background to the slenderness of the figure. The aviator is moving forward from a position of rest on his left foot, the right ready to act when he takes off for flight. The left wing is already extended; the right wing is just about to be raised. Of the two rear wings to complete is biplane, the left is still partly folded while the right one is partly extended to balance the mass of the fully spread front wing on the other side. He is gazing keenly upward and forward. On his head the flying helmet is conventionalized into a hawk’s mask with its keen eye and short, curved and notched beak

Reference: fontanus.mcgill.ca/article/download/274/310

Space and Aviation Museum - Ottawa, Ontario

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Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Admission fees
Adult $15, Youth (3-17) $10
Senior (age 60+) / Student $13

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: The Falcon Figure Type: Combination of two figure types Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Unknown Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: Unknown Materials used: Bronze Location: Space and Aviation Museum - Ottawa, Ontario

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