Robert Tait McKenzie was born in Almonte, Ontario. At age 18, he began his studies at McGill University, where he would earn his bachelor’s degree and medical degree before joining the faculty as a lecturer in anatomy and the Medical Director of Physical Training. Tait McKenzie began sculpting in 1903, out of a need for example pieces for his anatomy lectures. At McGill and later, at the University of Pennsylvania, he developed his practice as a sculptor, eventually achieving recognition for his work.
- 13 Artworks
- 1h 30min
- Monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier
Roddick portal
Artwork description
“I have modeled the figure to express the perfect beauty of the youthful form and have tried to follow, in so doing, the great tradition of sculpture. The buoyant figure is framed by its four wings. They form an areola about it and give volume and background to the slenderness of the figure. The aviator is moving forward from a position of rest on his left foot, the right ready to act when he takes off for flight. The left wing is already extended; the right wing is just about to be raised. Of the two rear wings to complete is biplane, the left is still partly folded while the right one is partly extended to balance the mass of the fully spread front wing on the other side. He is gazing keenly upward and forward. On his head the flying helmet is conventionalized into a hawk’s mask with its keen eye and short, curved and notched beak.”
The Falcon by R. Tait McKenzie. (His own description of the statue written December, 1935)