Louis Temporale, (October27, 1909 May22, 1994) was an Italian–born Canadian sculptor.

Career

Louis Temporale was born in

Maiano Maiano is small hilltop locality, now part of Fiesole, in Tuscany. The Chiesa di San Martino was founded there in the eleventh century and subsequently restored in the fifteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. A '' palagio'' existed at Ma ...

(now

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

), Fruili province, Italy.A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 (online only), by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada He began his artistic studies at the age of 14 at the State School of Design in his hometown. He later studied sculpture with Giuseppe Del Fabro in the town of Saint Daniele. He emigrated to Canada in 1927, settling in Toronto. He studied sculpture with

Elizabeth Wyn Wood Elizabeth Winnifred Wood (October 8, 1903 – January 27, 1966), known as Elizabeth Wyn Wood, was a Canadian sculptor and advocate of art education. A notable figure in Canadian sculpture, she is primarily known for her modernist interpretation ...

at the

Central Technical School Central Technical School (CTS or Central Tech) is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech ...

and

Emanuel Hahn Emanuel Otto Hahn (30 May 1881 – 14 February 1957) was a German-born Canadian sculptor and coin designer. He taught and later married Elizabeth Wyn Wood. He co-founded and was the first president of the Sculptors' Society of Canada. Biograph ...

at the

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 do ...

. In 1929, Temporale and his brother Peter purchased an old icehouse in

Port Credit Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road ...

, a neighborhood in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Ontario and established the family business of Canadian Art Memorials Limited which delivered a wide range of sculpture, among it cemetery gravestones. He lived in

for 60 years, and died there. Temporale worked largely in granite, limestone, and marble, and his carvings ranged from three-dimensional sculpture, to two-dimensional sculptural reliefs. He was best known for the high quality of his stone relief carving on numerous post offices, banks, bridges, educational institutions and hospitals in Hamilton and Toronto. In Toronto, he created the old Bank of Montreal building, the Crown Life Building on Bloor, and elsewhere. In 1938–1939, he was commissioned to create a 13-panel limestone bas relief carvings depicting Communications & Transportation on the side of the new Toronto Postal Delivery Building (which is now the

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...

). He also created other carvings utilized in the facade of the building. In Hamilton, he created the stone carving at the Hamilton Port Authority, including the Indian head prow; the stone ornamentation on the old Bank of Montreal building (Main and James); the frieze on the old post office (Main and John; now the court building); and the stone abutment art on the High Level Bridge. Temporale also executed the

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=亨利·諾爾曼·白求恩, p=Hēnglì Nuò'ěrmàn Báiqiú'ēn) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party ...

Memorial, Beijing, and an Obelisk in Malaysia. Besides his own work, he also transformed the models and maquettes of

Frances Loring Frances Norma Loring LL.D. (October 14, 1887– February 5, 1968) was a Canadian sculptor. Career Loring studied in Europe before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied with Lorado Taft. She was a member of both the Royal C ...

and many others into works of art.

said of him, in 1939, that "there is no finer stone carver in the world" than Temporale. In 1991, he was made a Member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

, the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...

the

Sculptors Society of Canada The Sculptors Society of Canada (SSC) promotes and exhibits contemporary Canadian sculpture. Founded by Canadian sculptors Frances Loring, Florence Wyle, Elizabeth Wyn Wood, Wood's teacher and husband Emanuel Hahn, Henri Hébert and Alfred Lali ...

, and the Monument Builders of North America Inc. His life and business partner was his wife Margaret; his partner was his son, Louis Jr. Temporale, who is trying to help preserve his father's legacy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temporale, Louis 1909 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists People from Fiesole Members of the Order of Ontario OCAD University alumni Italian emigrants to Canada