Creation and dedication
The idea for a statue dedicated to Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, was first proposed by night watchman T. Donald "Shun" Ryan of Fredericton. [1] Lord Beaverbrook was a native of New Brunswick who had sponsored several philanthropic enterprises in both the city and province. [1] Examples of this included the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, which was named in his honor, [2] and the James Dunn Memorial Fountain, a public art piece. [1] In order to raise funds for the statue, school children were urged to donate money, with any child who donated $0.10 (equivalent to $1.1 in 2023) getting their name placed on a ledger that would be stored in the base of the statue. [1] Sculptor Vincent Apap was commissioned to create the statue, [1] which would be located in Officers' Square. [2] On August 28, 1957, Ryan officially unveiled the statue in a ceremony that prominently featured the schoolchildren who had aided in the statue's funding. [1] The monument consisted of a 9-foot (2.7-metre) bronze statue of Lord Beaverbrook atop an 11 ft (3.4 m) stone pedestal. [1] On September 5 of that year, Lord Beaverbrook issued a statement thanking the children who had helped with the statue's creation. [1]
Relocation
Beginning in January 2018, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery entered into discussions with the city government regarding a relocation of the Lord Beaverbrook statue. [1] Per the art gallery, the statue would be moved to an area near their facilities that they intended to turn into a sculpture garden, placing it alongside the Robert Burns Memorial Statue and the James Dunn Memorial Fountain in a greenspace. [1] [2] According to Mayor Mike O'Brien, the city would continue to own both the statue and the land it sits on. [1] By October, the art gallery announced that they had allocated $100,000 ($118,000 in 2023) towards the project, with $10,000 ($12,000 in 2023) specifically set aside for the Lord Beaverbrook statue. [2] This money was matched by funds from the Fredericton City Council. [2] The relocation coincided with a planned renovation of Officers' Square that the city planned to begin in spring of the following year. [2] However, the city noted that, as the statue was included in Provincial Heritage Site Designation documentation for Officers' Square, a permit from the government of New Brunswick would be required before it could be relocated. [1] By August 2019, the city had received all necessary permits and approvals to move ahead with the statue's relocation and the square's renovation. [3] In October 2019, the statue was removed and placed in storage, with plans to place it in the new sculpture garden the following year. [4]
