ABSTRACT
Three Montreal Monuments: An Expression
of Nationalism
Aline Gubbay
1978
Three major monuments were erected in Montreal
during the period 1895-1920. They are those to de Maisonneuve by Philippe Hébert (1895),
George-Etienne Cartier by George Hill (1919) and Dollard des 0rmeaux by Alfred Laliberté
(1920). They form part of a larger output of public sculpture produced for the first time
by Canadian sculptors, and they reflect contemporary concerns which were paralleled in
many countries for the expression through this means of aspects of a shared national
experience. Training in sculpture was very limited in Montreal and most artists left to
study in Paris where they were exposed to a rich and varied artistic milieu. They were
affected both by current styles and by the earlier sculpture on display in Paris and
elsewhere in Europe. On their return to Montreal, all three sculptors competed, sometimes
with bitter results, for available commissions. These were awarded by committees guided by
varying motivations. Each of the monuments surveyed represents the efforts of the artists
to 're-invent history' through images significant enough to capture public imagination.
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