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* Listed Canadian Artist: 1914-2003, Sculptor, inventor, teacher, mentor and naturalist.
* Original brown patinated Bronze Beaver : In fine condition with no wear or abuse issues.
* Overall Size: Full length 4 7/8"
* Height & Width: h:1 3/4" x w:1 5/8"
* Signed on Bottom: E.B. Cox "Artcast"
A Note of Interest: The bronze sculpture displayed here by E.B.Cox is a finely cast miniature bronze Canadian beaver in a brown patina. Besides carving the human figure in many different positions and contortions, Elford was also very fond of nature and it's a known fact that he created numerous sculptures of the three "B's", that's birds, bears and beavers. This bronze casting is signed on its bottom side, E.B. Cox "Artcast", and was produced by the foundry who cast all of his small hand-sized bronze artworks.
Elford Bradley Cox Bronze Beaver
Elford Bradley Cox was born in Botha, Alberta in 1914. Even as a child he was involved in art and whittled carved in wood. He was educated at public and high schools in Bowmanville, Ontario and then U. of T. where he graduated in languages with a B.A. in 1938. He served time with the Canadian Intelligence Corps overseas for three years.
E.B. Cox taught languages at Upper Canada College and during the summers he taught at the Ontario Summer School for Arts & Crafts from 1946 to 1952. It was not until 1959 that he became a full-time sculptor. In his development years he was influenced by the work of Henry Moore. He was also influenced by the Iroquois carved masks produced by native Canadian carvers. He had a versatile approach to his work especially in his diverse choice of materials. Cox worked with metal rods making figures like his Greek god Orpheus, which decorated the grounds of Victoria College in Toronto, and it was described by Pearl McCarthy as, “A charming airy fantasy ....with a sunny Mood ”
He received praise for his light decorative works like enamel on copper wall pieces. While working in wood, stone and steel he developed a forceful and expressive style as in his playground sculptures made from Indiana limestone for Ernest C. Drury School for the Blind and Deaf, Milton, Ont. In 1962 to 1963 he created his seven-ton seated woman on the campus of McMaster University. One of his larger projects included 24 sculptures, each made from a five-ton block of Indiana limestone, representing in his own style, 24 Greek gods, for the Georgian Bay Peaks Ski Resort Ltd near Thornbury, Ontario. All of these works were eventually dispersed and sold in the 1980s.
Some of his other projects include: Fish Fountain in stone at the Park Plaza Hotel, Ave. Rd. & Bloor St. in 1959; Three Figures in limestone at Margaret Addison Hall, Victoria College, U. of T. in 1958; An abstract Pink Form, carved in pink calcite at U. of T. Toronto, HH quadrangle in 1967; Two figures of Bears in limestone, for Queen Elizabeth Bldg., CNE in 1971; Two figures within one block of limestone, Youth & Environment for the Queen Elizabeth Bldg., CNE in 1972; 20 figures in limestone, Garden of the Gods at the CNE Executive Offices in 1979; Bear, Portland limestone, at The Guild Inn, Guildwood Parkway, Scarborough in 1979, plus other projects. In the construction of these massive works he used sledge hammers, compressed air chisels and hand chisels.
He had held solo shows in Windsor, Stratford, Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. His art affiliations: RCA, OSA and SSC. E.B. Cox is resented in the following collections: AGO, Tor.; London AG & Museum, The Vancouver Art Gallery, Van.; AEAC, Kingston; Metro Central Lib., Tor. and elsewhere.
Elford Bradley Cox is widely acknowledged as Canada’s foremost sculptor in stone and bronze. His sculptures has been described as the great bridge between the native art of Canada and the modern art of the twentieth century. E.B.Cox was not only one of Canada’s finest artists, he was also a very special person, and will be fondly remembered by his students and fellow artists, as well as by collectors of his artworks, as they pass down their memories and their cherished Cox sculptures to the next generation of collectors.
Elford Bradley Cox passed away in 2003.
Rare Artifacts Ref No: 12MTR12EBY-S/ONOX
Elford Bradley Cox Bronze Beaver
Updated November 8, 2023 |
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