Statue commission

A bronze statue of a youthful Sir Wilfrid Laurier seated on a granite bench was commissioned for Laurier’s Waterloo campus to celebrate the university’s 100th anniversary.

Laurier’s Centennial Statue Committee selected the statue, designed by Canadian artist Marlene Hilton Moore, from among five proposals by three artists. The concepts featured Sir Wilfrid at various ages and in different poses. The group ultimately chose Hilton Moore’s seated bench statue for its accessibility, its approachability, its playfulness and its youth.

“It has to be somebody you can get photographed beside. It has to be playful enough that students want to put a scarf around his neck,” said Committee Chair Barry Ries, who is also an editorial/communications officer in Laurier’s Research Services Office. “But despite his rather casual appearance, we still know who he is and what he will become. We are going to be very proud of our Wilfrid Laurier for generations to come.”

Hilton Moore’s seated statue also had tremendous support from members of the Laurier community, who were invited to comment on the proposals to help the committee in its decision-making.

If you would like to be part of building this lasting legacy on our Waterloo campus, please visit our Statue Campaign page. Contributions will be accepted until the end of 2011.