Louis Temporale, OOnt RCA (October 27, 1909 – May 22, 1994) was an Italian–born Canadian sculptor.
Louis Temporale | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Bethune at Wanping Fortress, Beijing | |
| Born | Louis Luigi Temporale October 27, 1909 Maiano, Italy |
| Died | May 22, 1994 (aged 84) |
| Education | State School of Design in Maiano, Italy; with Giuseppe Del Fabro in the town of Saint Daniele, Italy;Central Technical School, Toronto with Elizabeth Wyn Wood; Ontario College of Art, Toronto with Emanuel Hahn (late 1920s) |
Career edit
Louis Temporale was born in Maiano (now Fiesole), Fruili province, Italy.[1] He began his artistic studies at the age of 14 at the State School of Design in his hometown. He later studied sculpture with Giuseppe Del Fabro in the town of Saint Daniele.[1] He emigrated to Canada in 1927,[2] settling in Toronto. He studied sculpture with Elizabeth Wyn Wood at the Central Technical School and Emanuel Hahn at the Ontario College of Art.[1] In 1929, Temporale and his brother Peter purchased an old icehouse in Port Credit, a neighborhood in Mississauga, Ontario and established the family business of Canadian Art Memorials Limited which delivered a wide range of sculpture, among it cemetery gravestones.[1] He lived in Port Credit for 60 years,[3] and died there.[4]
Temporale worked largely in granite, limestone, and marble, and his carvings ranged from three-dimensional sculpture, to two-dimensional sculptural reliefs. He was best known for the high quality of his stone relief carving on numerous post offices, banks, bridges, educational institutions and hospitals in Hamilton and Toronto.[1] In Toronto, he created the old Bank of Montreal building, the Crown Life Building on Bloor, and elsewhere.[5] In 1938–1939, he was commissioned to create a 13-panel limestone bas relief carvings depicting Communications & Transportation on the side of the new Toronto Postal Delivery Building (which is now the Scotiabank Arena). He also created other carvings utilized in the facade of the building.[5] In Hamilton, he created the stone carving at the Hamilton Port Authority, including the Indian head prow; the stone ornamentation on the old Bank of Montreal building (Main and James); the frieze on the old post office (Main and John; now the court building); and the stone abutment art on the High Level Bridge.[5] Temporale also executed the Norman Bethune Memorial, Beijing, and an Obelisk in Malaysia.[1] Besides his own work, he also transformed the models and maquettes of Frances Loring and many others into works of art.[2] Elizabeth Wyn Wood said of him, in 1939, that "there is no finer stone carver in the world" than Temporale.[5]
In 1991, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario.[6] He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy,[7] the Ontario Society of Artists[8] the Sculptors Society of Canada,[1] and the Monument Builders of North America Inc.[9] His life and business partner was his wife Margaret;[10] his partner was his son, Louis Jr. Temporale,[11] who is trying to help preserve his father's legacy.[12]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada
- ^ a b Tippett, Maria. "Sculpture in Canada". Douglas & McIntyre, 2017. p. 92. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "VIDEO: Louis Temporale, a legacy carved in stone". ParrySound.com. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Artist/Maker Name "Temporale, Louis"". CHIN. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Mahoney, Jeff (19 April 2013). "Mahoney: Son fights to protect father's deteriorating legacy, carved in stone". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Order of Ontario Appointees by year of Appointment".
- ^ "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Members Deceased". Ontario Society of Artists. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Old-World Sculptor Makes Rock Come Alive" (PDF). www7.mississauga.ca. Mississauga News, November 21, 1979. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Margaret Temporale obit". www.legacy.com. Toronto Star from Apr. 4 to Apr. 5, 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Temporale awarded Order of Ontario" (PDF). www7.mississauga.ca. . Mississauga News, May 15, 1991. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "MLSE lets heritage sculptures crumble at Air Canada Centre, artist charges". www.cbc.ca. CBC. Retrieved 22 June 2021.