Last post I promised everyone a return trip back into Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park. More to the point I all but promised to show you the working men and nudes that made Leo Mol sought after sculptor the world over.
As I showed in my last post Mol had a grand love of the beauty and quiet of nature. A very good friend of mine cared for Leo in his final years at the Taché Nursing Home where he was a resident. In our long walks through the garden that bears his name she would speak of Leo with worried tones. As one of the many nurses charged with his care she would often sit and visit with him, she spoke of the the way a mention of his artwork could snap him out of his haze and return a smile and razor edge to his mind as he discussed at length the processes and inspirations that brought life to his art.
I never got to meet Leo Mol personally, but like I often say Winnipeg is a small enough city to know someone through the company they keep. In his work I could see a steady and measured hand, a quiet mind that enjoyed beauty in all of it’s forms. A man driven and skilled enough to craft metal and glass and paint into the images that he alone saw in his minds eye.
Bronze nudes and the female form.
Family Group (1990)
Katrina (2000)
Marijka (1982)
Surprise (1976)
Torso of Balance (1975)
patio wide angle
Hope - In support of Cancer treatment and research (1996)
Anne (1985)
Ballerina
Patio wide angle 2
The reflecting pool.
Reflecting pool and fountain in The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden
Reflecting pool bather (close-up)
Reclining bather
Working Men
Manitoba has a proud heritage of men hard as the ice that covers this often harsh land, loggers, farmers, bush pilots and immigrants all hail from here. Others are part of world history, leaders of men, Prime Ministers and Popes, Leo Mol sculpted them all.
Two Loggers
Two Loggers (close-up)
Tom Lamb
Tom Lamb, an intrepid bush, pilot helped to open the Canadian north. His company Lamb Air used the motto ” Do not ask us where we fly, tell us where you want to go.”
The Sower
John Diefenbaker - Canadian Prime Minister (1985)
John Diefenbaker, Canada’s 13th Prime Minister.
Blind Bandurist (1996)
- Haydamaky (from the from the monument of Taras Shevchenko in Buenos Aries)
Heydamaky - rear (1970)
Haydamaky commemorates the Cossack rebellion against the Polish nobility in the early to mid 1700’s.
Bust of Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko (1964)
Taras Shevchenko, poet and chronicler of the uprisings against the Czar. Hero to the people of Ukraine. Author of the epic Ukrainian poem Heydamaky. The originals are in Buenos Aries on display as a tribute to liberty.
Moses’ pond.
In a quiet corner of the garden, lays Moses’ pond. Framed by pines and bubbling water the tranquility of the place washes over you in waves. If you shed your care layer by layer as you move though the outer rings here you can enjoy quiet and inner peace. The only sounds first thing in the morning are the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds and the scampering of squirrels through the underbrush.
Approaching the dias
Gazing upon moses
Moses among the trees
Dream
Dream (close-up)
Related articles
- Winnipeg: A Little Guide for Foreigners (stevensirski.wordpress.com)
Bob
Exploring Winnipeg and Beyond. 
I like the two loggers.
The two loggers and Tom Lamb are my favorites in that section of the park. There are two Moses statues also, one in by the reflecting pool with the nudes and the big one tucked away in his pond area.
So glad you liked Ivy. 🙂
Moses’ pond is stunning. I would spend my life there if I lived in Winnipeg…
The truth is my pictures can’t do it proper justice. It’s one of my “Happy Places” in the city. Swing on down and bring Ivy and Nikki we can make a day of sightseeing.
What a terrible injustice. No nude men? 😉
Well SG, there may be no nude men but the boys are still packing a great deal of heat. Notice if you will the “Wood” those loggers are working with. Tom Lamb has got one pretty massive “Propeller”, and well you know what they said about John Diefenbaker…. He was the biggest dick in Government.
Wow! So beautiful!!
PS: Sunny “introduces” me to the best peeps!!
Thanks for popping by Colie, like I said the internet should be built on love and good intent. Give Sunny the nod to visit here too, I don’t think she has been by yet.
Winnipeg has a great deal of wonder and beauty, people often overlook us in favour of Vancouver or Toronto because they are bigger but Winnipeg is a real hub of arts and culture. We are kind of isolated so everything here has to come from within. Big minds, big visions.
You’re always welcome here so please come back soon!
Wow..I’ve never been called over to a blog before! You Canadian’s sure know how to show the hospitality : ) It looks beautiful there. I don’t leave the house much, but I can tell, it’s nice there. It looks crisp..not smoggy like these parts. You are quite the ambassador, Bob. I promise to return soon and take a virtual trip. I appreciate that you’re blog lets me tour Winnipeg in my pajamas!
Hi Sunny. Welcome, yes we Canucks do pride ourselves on hospitality. Being polite and welcoming is really a point of order here. It’s always a treat to share good tweets and posts so really hitting a button does not stress me out a great deal.
Feel free to look around, as I tell all my new guests. Pull up a comfortable chair and grab a cookie. They may be metaphorical but they are delicious!
Beautiful statues and my favourite is the Tom Lamb one. Brilliant, just brilliant!
Glad you liked them Rincewind. Like I said it’s one of my favourite places to hang out in Winnipeg. So peaceful there.
The girls are pretty amazing also, but nothing compared to what you have on your blog. 🙂
park, summertime, girls… nothing beats that… and real live ones is a big bonus compared to the ones on the computer screen 😀