Two Brome Lake residents, Claire Léger and Claude Allaire, have donated 12 sculptures created by well-known Quebec artists to the Town of Brome Lake. These sculptures will be installed in different areas in the village and along the walking path starting on Victoria Street leading to Foster. It is as significant contribution to the cultural fabric of the town.
“Some of the sculptures are every big and very fragile. We have hired an architectural firm to look at all of the possibilities of installing them, and where,” said Brome Lake Mayor Richard Burcombe. “They decided to have one at the library, one at the theatre, and one near Main Street and Maple Street at Artlab. I guess the rest will be installed along the walking path from Victoria Street all the way to Foster. The public will be able to benefit from of it with a nice walk and a nice view.”
Léger started collecting the sculptures when she moved to Bondville in 2002 after a friend donated one to her. “It was when we saw they beauty of the sculpture in the gardens we started acquiring other sculptures and making direct orders from artists,” explained Léger. “Since we are not getting any younger, we thought it would be good to give them so that a lot of people can see them because we no longer wanted to open our gardens; it was too much work. There are some sculptures on the property, but we gave those that are easy to maintain. We gave the sculptures that are bronze.”
Donating the sculptures to the town was a no-brainer for her. “We are very attached to our region so it was normal to give them to the town. They fit in well with the town’s cultural policy and the architects are doing impressive work,” she added.
The sculptures, including two pieces by Granby-born artist Charles Daudelin, La cavalière and Anoudeu, and a piece titled Allegro created by Brome Lake resident Sally Kininmonth, are currently being refurnished. “Right now, we have to maintain them and get them back to their original state and condition. Then we will have them installed,” explained Brucombe. Some are currently in a bronzing restoration place. We will probably have three installed this year before winter comes; one at the entrance of the path by Victoria, another close to Douglas Beach, and another a little further on.”
He added that the sculptures will be installed depending on where they are best suited within the landscape. There will also be plaques added to identify the donors of the sculptures, what the sculpture is, the artist who created it, and the story behind it.
The donation of the sculptures falls under Brome Lake’s new cultural policy.
