William Sutherland Maxwell (November 14, 1874 – March 25, 1952) was a well-known Canadian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and a Hand of the Cause in the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. He was born in

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 ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada to parents Edward John Maxwell and Johan MacBean.

Life

Education

After attending the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

, at the age of 18 he started working for his brother's office in the

Sun Life Building The Sun Life Building (french: Édifice Sun Life) is a historic , 24-storey office building at 1155 Metcalfe Street on Dorchester Square in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was completed in 1931 after three stag ...

in Montreal. In 1895 he left for

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

where he spent three years in the office of Winslow and Wetherel; in the evenings he would study at the

Boston Architectural Club Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and ...

. At the Boston Architectural Club he met Constant-Désiré Despradelles, Professor of Design at MIT (1892–1912), who exposed him to the

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorp ...

style. In 1898 he returned to his brother Edward's office for fifteen months, after which he spent a year and a half in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he was accepted as a student in the atelier of Jean-Louis Pascal at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

, under whom Despradelles had also studied. Maxwell then returned to Canada in December 1900.

Professional life

In 1902 he became a partner in his brother's firm. During his time with the firm, the firm won contracts to design the Commissions for the Nurses Home of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, the Saskatchewan Legislative Buildings, the Art Association of Montreal (renamed the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

), and the Departmental and Courts Buildings Ottawa in 1907 (unexecuted). In 1891? he was accepted in the new association of architects. He designed the Board of Trade Building in Montreal, and the Saint-Louis, and Riverview wings of the

Château Frontenac The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

when it was expanded, and the new art gallery in Montreal. Among the many other designs, he also designed important hotels for the Canadian Pacific Railway adjoining their existing stations in Winnipeg and Calgary.

As a Baháʼí

In Paris Maxwell had met

Mason Remey Charles Mason Remey (15 May 1874 – 4 February 1974) was a prominent member of the early American Baháʼí community, and served in several important administrative capacities. He is well-known for an attempted schism of 1960, in which he cla ...

and Randolph Bolles who introduced him to the

. Later Maxwell married Bolles' sister May Ellis Bolles in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 8 May 1902, and became a Baháʼí in 1909, after meeting

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...

, the son of the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The Maxwell's home in Montreal became a centre of Baháʼí activity in Canada, and in 1912 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá visited their home. The Maxwells would frequently visit the

Baháʼí World Centre The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of th ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Palestine (current day

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

). In 1937 the Maxwells' daughter, Mary Maxwell, married

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...

, then head of the Baháʼí Faith. After Mrs. Maxwell's death in 1940, Mr. Maxwell left to Haifa, where he remained throughout the Second World War. While in Haifa he designed the arcade and superstructure of the

Shrine of the Báb The Shrine of the Báb is a structure on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, where the remains of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith and forerunner of Baháʼu'lláh in the Baháʼí Faith, are buried; it is considered to be the seco ...

, one of the holiest places for members of the Baháʼí Faith. For this work and for his long devotion to the Baháʼí Faith he was recognized as a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi in December 1951. After his death in 1952 the south door of the Shrine of the Báb was named after him. William Maxwell had returned to Montreal the year before he died and he was buried 29 March 1952 in Mount Royal Cemetery.

Professional associations

In 1908 he became a Councillor of the Province of Quebec Association of Architects, in 1909 an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy, in 1913 President of the Arts Club, in 1914 President of the Province of Quebec Association of Architects and an Academician of the Royal Canadian Academy, in 1928 a Fellow of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

(RIBA), in 1935 President of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

(RAIC) and finally in 1938 Vice-president of the Royal Canadian Academy.

References

External links

The Architecture of Edward & W.S. Maxwell: The Canadian Legacy, John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection, McGill University Library

Historic Places in Canada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, William Sutherland Canadian architects Hands of the Cause Canadian Bahá'ís Architects from Montreal 1874 births 1952 deaths Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada Canadian alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 20th-century Bahá'ís Boston Architectural College alumni High School of Montreal alumni Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery