John Beverley Robinson

Sculpture

Law Society of Ontario

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

FA98

Description

Marble bust of Sir John Beverley Robinson. He appears wearing a toga. The bust is affixed to a pillar. The bust has a marbled effect and it yellowish-off-white in colour.

Artwork Details

Medium

Sculpture, Marble

Acquisition

Accession

13358

Notes

It appears that the bust was presented to the Law Society by the grandson of John Beverley Robinson in 1920 (see research notes)

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Samuel Gardner

Role

Attribution

Notes

Date Note: 1857? See research.

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Bust

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Search Terms

FINE ART, Sculpture

Legacy Lexicon

Class

Art

Other Names

Name Type

French

Other Name

buste

Name Type

Spanish

Other Name

bustos

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Sir John Beverley Robinson

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Sir John Beverley Robinson (1791-1863) was a lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a notable member of the Family Compact, a group of British elites who held much of the political power in Upper Canada.

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

There was no party like the At Home held at Osgoode Hall. Hailed as the social event of the season, all the “young men and maidens of Toronto society” looked forward to it. The At Home was a night of dancing, drinking, and socializing hosted by the law students. The last mention of an At Home in Osgoode Hall comes in 1930, when At Homes were banned from the premises by the Benchers. The festivities had become “indecorous”. This bust of John Beverley Robinson was "badly defaced, having been smeared all over with lipstick." (Minutes of Convocation, February 20th, 1930).

Research Notes

Notes

Listed as Sir John Beverley Robinson on 1933 inventory. Same 1938.

Notes

The bust is smeared with red lipstick on February 14, 1930. The Legal and Literary Society's dance degenerates in the middle of the night (3:00 a.m.), leaving a trail of destruction throughout the building. The L & L Society loses the right to hold functions in the building after this incident. Corporate Records 1-3-76.

Research Type

Web

Notes

Result: attributed A Mr. Garner of Simcoe proposes to offer for sale his marble bust of Sir J.B. Robinson to the legal profession for Osgoode Hall. "Nothing could be more consistent than that this magnificent piece of art, and correct figure of our much respected Chief Justice, should be secured by the profession, and, as a tribute of respect, placed in the Hall of the Upper Canada Law Courts." From the Woodstock Times, found in the Weekly Dispatch, 5 Nov. 1857 (Google News Archives)

Research Type

Web

Notes

According to the first episode of "Carved in Stone," a video produced by Norfolk County Heritage & Culture, Gardner also created a sculpture of John A. MacDonald, which was expected to go either to Osgoode Hall or the Parliamentary Library.

Research Type

Provenance

Notes

"Gives Grandfather's Bust - C.C. [?] Robinson has presented to the Law Society at Osgoode Hall a bust of his grandfather, Sir John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of Upper Canada from 1829 to 1863. A portrait of Sir John Beverley Robinson hangs over the mantle at the west end of the Library of the Society at Osgoode Hall, and the bust has been placed at the east end of the Library." Toronto Daily Star, April 12, 1920, 2.