The legacy of Canadian artists Frances Loring and Florence Wyle extends far beyond the art that the two women made themselves. Together, they made a commitment in their wills to establish The Sculpture Fund, which was intended to support acquisitions of sculpture by major museums.
Loring and Wyle, who understood both the impact and the challenge of having their art purchased by museums, had a vision of addressing an imbalance in Canadian collections. Sculpture accounts for only 4% of works of Canadian museum and public gallery holdings, and works by women in any medium represent only 18%.
Moving towards gender parity is a pillar of the AGO’s collecting strategy and aligns with the legacy of Loring and Wyle as innovative and influential artists in Canada. In recent years, the museum’s Indigenous & Canadian department has partnered with cultural worker Amy Nugent and a community of philanthropic supporters to bring The Sculpture Fund to life through research, acquisitions and exhibitions, including Remade: Clay, Plaster, Stone and Elizabeth Wyn Wood, which are currently on view.
Philanthropy was an essential catalyst for the project, including the establishment of an endowed fellowship to support research—the first fellowship in Canada focused on modernist sculpture. As the inaugural W. David Hargraft Fellow in Canadian Art, Melissa Alexander conducted an extensive review of the AGO’s collection of Indigenous and Canadian sculpture.
Installation view, Remade: Clay, Plaster, Stone. August 9, 2025 - Fall 2027, Art Gallery of Ontario. Featured artworks: Florence Wyle, Sea and Shore, c. 1950; Frances Norma Loring, Deer Panel, c.1941 ©️ Art Gallery of Ontario
Renée van der Avoird, Associate Curator, Canadian Art, says the fellowship was essential in supporting such an in-depth study. The gift established in W. David Hargraft’s name is not only a tribute to his legacy, but a testament to the impact of philanthropy.
“It was exciting for our department, because Melissa is a specialist in Canadian art history, specifically women artists, and we wanted to look at the AGO’s collection of modern sculpture by Canadian women,” says Renée van der Avoird, Associate Curator, Canadian Art. “Melissa was able to do a forensic inventory on the collection and specific research on artists like Loring and Wyle.”
Among Melissa’s findings was that the museum’s holdings of Canadian modernist sculpture are dominated by women artists and a Toronto-based network in which Loring and Wyle were leading figures.
“I was really struck by the fact that the majority of working sculptors in Toronto during the 1910s were women, and yet there are so few of their works in public collections and little to no scholarship surrounding them,” Melissa says.
“This Toronto network was a subset of my research, but it expands our understanding of the field, sheds light on how the AGO’s collection was built, and also underscores the importance and uniqueness of the Loring and Wyle collection.”
Melissa, working with Renée and Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, also led the acquisition of four sculptural works by artists Elizabeth Wyn Wood and Anna Kahane.
In addition, Melissa curated the Remade exhibition.
Renée says this presentation highlights the AGO as the home of Loring and Wyle’s collection and the two artists’ creative processes.
“The exhibition is such a wonderful manifestation of the research that Melissa was able to do,” Renée says. “It brings out work that has not been displayed before and positions both artists as lifelong sculptors, showing works from their early days to their later years. It gives visitors an opportunity to learn about the process of making sculptures. Among the acquisitions supported by The Sculpture Fund is Regeneration (1938) by Loring and Wyle’s contemporary Elizabeth Wyn Wood, which is featured in the eponymous exhibition curated by Renée.
“It was clear in Melissa's research that a lot of the sculptors knew one another, especially the women artists,” Renée says. “They were sharing resources and supporting each other.”
Through The Sculpture Fund project, the AGO and its philanthropic community have reflected this spirit of support, helping to realize the vision of Loring and Wyle and celebrate the immense impact and influence of women sculptors in Canada.