Symposium Piece for Eva

Symposium Piece for Eva by Canadian sculptor Haydn Davies has been installed at our Queen’s Square location since 1997. After an extensive deaccessioning process, which included consultation with the artist’s family, it was decided that the work be removed from its Queen’s Square location. 

On November 21, 2023, the work was returned to the Davies family. As a community, we have enjoyed this important Canadian sculpture for over 25 years.

“The gallery has been proud to display this work for our community for more than 25 years and is saddened to see it go,” said Alix Voz, Gallery Director/Curator. “However, respecting the artistic integrity of the original work is of great importance. We are pleased to see the work be returned to the family and we will honour Haydn Davies and his contributions to public art through upcoming programming”

The Davies family echoes the gallery staff’s emotions at the work’s exhibition coming to an end and expresses their appreciation. They also look forward to working together to create an appropriate means of recognizing Haydn Davies and his contribution to public art.

Importance of public art

Displayed at the Sculpture Garden before its arrival at Queen’s Square, Symposium Piece for Eva has become embedded into our cultural landscape. Public art, particularly public art created with natural materials, has a lifespan. The sculpture is currently showing its 46-year-old age and is no longer displayed in the way the artist originally designed it. Over the years, the work has been professionally and carefully repaired numerous times. Regrettably, it is time to deaccession Davie’s sculpture. 

Deaccession is the procedure for permanently removing a work from a collection. In this case, the sculpture will return to the Davies family. Over the last five years, our staff has assessed the care of the sculpture and performed a conservator’s assessment. Along with the guidance of the family, it was decided to remove the artwork and return it to the family. 

To honour Haydn Davies and his work, we will develop free educational programming to inform our community about the value and importance of Canadian public art. An announcement regarding this program will be made in the coming months.

About the artwork

Canadian sculptor, Haydn Davies (1921 – 2008) created Symposium Piece for Eva in 1977 in Vancouver for the Wood Sculpture of America’s symposium. The sculpture was named in honour of his wife and was moved to Ontario in the 1980s. 

During the summer of 1997, Davies gifted the sculpture to Cambridge Art Galleries, Idea Exchange; then known as Cambridge Library and Gallery. At the time of the gifting, Davies stated, “Eva and I saw it as an opportunity to give something back to a delightful community for which we both have great affection”. 

Davies also has work in the permanent collections of Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Moderna e Contemporenea in Rome, Museo d'Arte Moderna in Venice and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels and many other Ontario locations such as Burlington and Sault St-Marie.

About the artist

Haydn Davies was born in Rhymney, Wales, on November 11, 1921, and at the age of nine, he moved to Canada with his family. 

Davies began his artistic journey at Central Technical School and the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, graduating in 1939. During World War II, he served in Bomber Command of the Royal Canadian Air Force, creating a poster now housed in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

Upon returning to civilian life, Davies embarked on a successful graphic design and advertising career, eventually reaching the position of senior vice president and director at McCann-Erickson Advertising of Canada. However, in 1976 at the age of 55, he resigned to pursue a full-time career as a sculptor. 

Haydn Davies passed away in 2008, leaving behind a notable large-scale public art portfolio. His wife Eva passed away in 2018.