Although Mol had most of his bronze works cast in Germany, he did also perform some of his castings himself, in his studio. “Among the many casts done there was a giant nine foot figure of Queen Elizabeth for the City of Winnipeg – an astonishing achievement for a homemade foundry.”[7]
The sculpture, along withanother depictingQueen Victoria, was toppled onCanada Day,[9] 1 July 2021, following theCanadian Indian residential schools gravesite discoveries.[10] The statue of Elizabeth II was brought down by and left covered in yellow rope, as well as covered in red paint.[1][11][12] Although both queens wereconstitutional monarchs, meaning they did not make policy or law and were bound to follow the advice and direction of their ministers and parliamentarians, and Canada had ceased to be a colony of Britain in 1931, meaning Elizabeth II reigned in Canada distinctly as Queen of Canada, the protesters who tore the statues down were said to have believed Elizabeth and Victoria represented Canada's colonial history.[13][14]
As of July 2022, the statue of Elizabeth II was being restored while the statue of Queen Victoria was damaged beyond repair and will not be replaced.[15] The statue was put back in place on 2 June 2023, the 70th anniversary ofElizabeth II's coronation.[16]
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