Captured in Stone

Captured in Stone
Carving Canada's Past

K. Barbara Lambert, R. Eleanor Milne, and Eleanor Moore

Introduction by Margaret Wade Labarge
Photography by Ewald Richter

8 X 10 inches, 96 pages
colour plates, photos, text

ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE SIGHTS to greet visitors to Canada's Parliament Buildings is a work of stone carving in the Foyer of the House of Commons entitled the "History of Canada Series." From the open space in the centre of the Foyer, viewers raise their eyes to the mezzanine level, where images have been carved directly into the limestone on all four sides in a frieze about forty metres long and one and one-half metres high. Each of the ten groups of images consists of two panels carved in low relief, separated by a centre stone in high relief. Eleanor Milne, Dominion Sculptor from 1962 to 1993 and the creator of the work, has selected moments in the history of Canada from the earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century that illustrate the events, the historical changes, the institutions, and, above all, the people that have made Canada what it is.

Captured in Stone: Carving Canada's Past is a comprehensive illustrated guide to this national treasure. At its centre is an image-by-image illustrated guide to the Series, in which the carvings are identified and interpreted. The introduction, by M.W. Labarge, describes the origins of the project and Eleanor Milne's involvement with it and also provides a sketch of the artist's life. The delightful description of the setting by Barbara Lambert and Eleanor Moore brings it vividly alive in the reader's imagination.

Eleanor Milne herself gives an account of the conception, planning, and execution of the frieze, and in it she gives full credit to the other carvers who worked beside her and under her direction. She also takes the reader along on a typical night on the job (for the work had to be done at night, because of the noise and the dust), and provides a glimpse of some of the tools and the techniques that were used.

All visitors to Ottawa and the Parliament Buildings will value this moving and illuminating souvenir of one of the city's most original works of art.

Available in French

Eleanor Milne

Author, Artist

R. Eleanor Milne, Master Sculptor, was educated at the Montreal Museum School of Fine Arts, l'École des Beaux-Arts, Central College of Arts and Crafts in London, England, and the University of Syracuse. She was Dominion Sculptor, Government of Canada from 1962 until her retirement in 1993. Miss Milne is a member of the Order of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. She has received honorary degrees from Carleton University, the University of Windsor, Queen's University, and York University.

Barbara Lambert

Author

K. Barbara Lambert, B.Arch. (McGill), is a freelance writer specializing in architecture, heritage conservation, town planning, and industrial design. She has been a Commissioner of the National Capital Commission and a member of the National Design Council. Her part in this book was inspired by watching the creation of the History of Canada Series from her viewpoint as Eleanor Milne's sister.

Eleanor Moore

Author

Eleanor Moore is a practising pharmacist and a graduate student in Canadian Studies at Carleton University. Her interest in the History of Canada Series sparked research into various aspects of Canadian history and culture, which in turn proved to be an invaluable resource for her collaborative role in this project.

M.W. Labarge

Introduction

Margaret Wade Labarge is a medieval historian. Educated at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, and St. Anne's College, Oxford, she is a member of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. The author of nine books on themes related to the medieval period, Margaret Wade Labarge has received honorary degrees from Carleton University and the University of Waterloo, and, in 2001, Carleton University's Founders Award.

Ewald Richter

Photographer

Ewald Richter is an internationally known professional photographer with over forty years experience in all aspects of creative photography and darkroom techniques. Prior to establishing his own company in 1982, Mr. Richter was Chief Photographer for the National Capital Commission.