John Boxtel (21 June 1930 – 1 October 2022) was a Dutch-Canadian sculptor and art teacher. His works include

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

woodcarving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

, architectural drafting, design, and building.

Biography

Born in

Goirle Goirle () is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Part of the suburban area of the city of Tilburg, it shares with it its phone area code and public transport system. The municipality also includes ...

, Netherlands, Boxtel studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

at the Technical School in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

, Netherlands. After emigrating to Canada in 1954, he studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and the Artists' Workshop in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

. In 1967, he became an

art teacher Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. Boxtel had gallery exhibitions in Toronto,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Kingston,

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, and the Netherlands. His public commissioned works for monuments were done in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, and United States. Working with the Ukrainian Canadian community John crafted several statues recalling Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920, that can be seen in Banff National Park, in Kapuskasing, Spirit Lake, on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature and elsewhere across the country. He spoke movingly about his commitment to telling the story of these "enemy aliens" through his artwork in one segment of Ryan Boyko's film series, "The Camps." Boxtel died on 1 October 2022, at the age of 92.

Works

His works include: * "The Peacekeeper", a larger than life-size sculpture depicting a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

carrying his gun in his left hand and a child on his right arm. The sculpture is on the wall in the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

library in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

. * "To Overcome", a sculpture of the

obstacle course An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with th ...

, a gift of the class of 1991. *"Interned Madonna," depicts a Ukrainian woman internee with two of her children, a swaddled infant boy and a young girl clinging to her mother's dress at the former site of the Spirit Lake Internment Camp, Amos Quebec. This statue was erected on 16 June 2001 in memory of the wives and children imprisoned with their husbands during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914–1920. *"Why?", a statue of Ukrainian-Canadian internee circa 1916 entitled installed at the Castle Mountain internment camp site, in Banff National Park, on 12 August 1995 was erected in memory of those imprisoned during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914–1920. Boxtel was also the author of six books: Go Fly a Kite: The Kite-Builder's Manual; Under the Wing of an Angel; Thousand Island Pioneers; Beware of Black Widows and Spiders; For All He Gave Me: Stories of My Father; and Studio: Sculptures of John Boxtel.

References

1930 births 2022 deaths Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors Dutch sculptors Dutch male sculptors People from Goirle Dutch emigrants to Canada {{Netherlands-sculptor-stub