Thursday, November 19, 2015

Needed A Horse

This statue is found right in the centre of Queen's Park where our provincial legislature building is located. The subject is Edward VII and the piece was designed by English artist Thomas Brock and was installed in New Delhi, India in 1919. After becoming a republic India was ridding itself of signs of British imperialism and the sculpture was removed and was eventually bought by a wealthy Toronto businessman who felt that our city lacked a good sculpture of a man on a horse. It was installed here in 1969 and is passed daily by hundreds of U of Toronto students as they pass from one side of the campus to the other.
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27 comments:

  1. EG CameraGirlNovember 19, 2015 at 8:42 AM

    Fascinating history of why Toronto has Edward VII on a horse!

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  2. PerthDailyPhotoNovember 19, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    That was an entertaining tale Pat :) now you know I'm going to have to find out if Perth has a horse sculpture.. stay tuned ☺

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  3. KarlNovember 19, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    Gorgeous photo of this fascinating statue !

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  4. Jackie McGuinnessNovember 19, 2015 at 9:39 AM

    Thanks for the background. Seen it numerous times.

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  5. 21 WitsNovember 19, 2015 at 9:47 AM

    Such interesting history, a good place to have it, and what a gorgeous day as well!

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  6. SharonNovember 19, 2015 at 9:56 AM

    It's a beautiful statue and looks very proud sitting there. I've been watching a series on PBS called Indian Summer which has shed some light on how imperialist British rule worked in early India. I don't blame them for getting rid of the signs.

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  7. Luis GomezNovember 19, 2015 at 9:59 AM

    Every city needs a sculpture of a man in a horse if not many. From the top of my head I can think of at least 3 around where I live. ;)

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  8. Billy Blue EyesNovember 19, 2015 at 10:18 AM

    So how many times does it get abused by the students hanging items on it or the odd Father Christmas hat

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  9. VPNovember 19, 2015 at 10:36 AM

    An interesting story for a beautyful monument!

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  10. KarenNovember 19, 2015 at 11:40 AM

    It's quite regal looking. Beautiful sky too.

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  11. Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson BarryNovember 19, 2015 at 11:46 AM

    incredible.

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  12. UnknownNovember 19, 2015 at 11:54 AM

    Perfect against that gorgeous blue!

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  13. AndyNovember 19, 2015 at 1:46 PM

    Interesting bit of history. India you say.

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  14. LowellNovember 19, 2015 at 2:14 PM

    Every great city needs a statue of a man on a horse. I think we have one here, but it's of a traitor - a Confederate general. I do love living in the south!

    This is a very attractive statue!

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  15. GosiaNovember 19, 2015 at 3:09 PM

    the horse is lovely

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  16. RevrunnerNovember 19, 2015 at 3:57 PM

    Sure, every city that is a city needs the statue of a man astride a horse.

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  17. Sallie (FullTime-Life)November 19, 2015 at 4:11 PM

    Quite a few fascinating layers of history carried in this one statue! Most interesting.

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  18. HalcyonNovember 19, 2015 at 4:18 PM

    Every city needs a good man on a horse, I suppose!

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  19. TexWisGirlNovember 19, 2015 at 5:03 PM

    a lovely statue...on the move!

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  20. cieldequimperNovember 19, 2015 at 5:39 PM

    Blue sky, lovely foliage, a beautiful statue with an interesting travelling history! Id doesn't get any better than that!

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  21. TomNovember 19, 2015 at 5:59 PM

    Every city needs a good sculpture of a man on a horse.

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  22. UnknownNovember 19, 2015 at 6:06 PM

    Very dramatic and stately against that lovely sky...

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  23. CloudiaNovember 19, 2015 at 6:24 PM

    wonderful provenance. Thanks!





    Warm ALOHA,
    ComfortSpiral

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  24. William KendallNovember 19, 2015 at 6:53 PM

    It's a formidable one!

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  25. LoisNovember 19, 2015 at 8:47 PM

    Interesting history! it is a beautiful statue.

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  26. genieNovember 20, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    Interesting story of the monument. I bet it was pretty darn heavy to move all about the world.

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  27. jennyfrecklesNovember 21, 2015 at 11:48 AM

    Heheh, that's an interesting story of how it came to be there.

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