One of the most visible sites is right on Parliament Hill, between the West and Centre Blocks: The statue of the Rt. Hon. John George Diefenbaker. No, the Chief wasn’t Ukrainian, but the statue was made by a prominent, and world-famous, Ukrainian-Canadian artist: Leo Mol.

Mr. Mol has executed many monuments and portrait busts of world figures such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, Pope Paul VI, Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Canadian Group of Seven artists (he was a close friend of A.Y.Jackson), composer Peter Tchaikovsky (housed in St. Petersburg, Russia), and many others. He created the bust of John Diefenbaker in 1964 and was chosen, from twenty-one artists, to do the statue on Parliament Hill. Mr. Mol has also designed and executed more then 80 stained glass windows. In 1992 the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden opened in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, featuring over 200 bronze sculptures from the artist’s personal collection. A special foundation was formed to build the garden and move the artist’s studio (the whole building, as is) from a suburb of Winnipeg to it. He can still be found working there on occasion.

Leo Mol is a member of the Order of Canada, of the Royal Canadian Academy (of art) and has a number of other honours, including an honorary doctorate.

ON THE NET

You can find a number of images of Leo Mol’s work on the Internet. See a short video of the Leo Mol sculpture garden at Winnipeg.foundlocally.com.
If your computer is an old clunker like mine, you can do a photo tour of the garden by going to www.deja-net.mb.ca and following the links to “Leo Mol Sculpture garden”.
At http://www.mts.net/~syddavy you’ll find a bronze statue of Sir William Stevenson (Intrepid of World War II fame)being unveiled by The Princess Royal, H.R.H. Princess Anne, in the presence of the artist.
The large bronze of Diefenbaker was produced in the Artcast foundry in 1986. Oh, too lazy to go to Parliament Hill? Check out http://www.ottawakiosk.com/parliament/statues_10.html.

TRAVELLING

If you travel, you can see Leo Mol’s work all over the World, including the Vatican collection and the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Those of us who do not have access to those two holy of holies have other options. His statues of Taras Shevchenko can be found in public parks in Buenos Aires, St Petersburg and Washington DC. If you visit Edmonton, your relatives will take you to the Ukrainian Pioneer Village near the city. The pioneer family monument was done by the artist.

The best place to see Leo Mol’s work is in his adopted home, Winnipeg. The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, in Assiniboine Park is worth a visit in any season. You’ll be greeted by a life-size bronze of a Hutzul trembitar (alpenhorn player) and see Mol’s work in a beautiful setting. The display building contains smaller bronzes, paintings, maquettes and other works. There are some 18 churches in the city that have stained glass windows designed by the artist, one of the most impressive sets being at the St Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral (94 McGregor). Pause to look at his statue of St Volodymyr at the edge of the church parking lot next door. Holy Trinity Cathedral Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (1175 Main Street) has a unique mosaic done by the artist on the front of the church. Check it out at www.winnipeg-manitoba.com. Bring back photographic proof that you found Leo Mol’s more than life-size statue of our present monarch (it’s in a a rather obscure public place in Winnipeg, but very close to a high traffic area), I’ll buy you a coffee. OK, I’ll throw in a doughnut. No current or ex-Winnipeggers need apply!