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Famed Timothy Eaton Statue moves to its new home -- at the Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) today welcomed the the famous bronze statue of Timothy Eaton, a much-loved Toronto icon from the Eaton’s department stores. The statue was installed early this morning in the ROM’s Eaton Court, on the Museum’s main floor.

“Having the statue of Timothy Eaton installed at the ROM will make this important Toronto landmark accessible to the public,” said Meg Beckel, Chief Operating Officer of the ROM. “We are most grateful to the Eaton family for this generous donation. The statue is an important symbol of Canada’s rich material culture and will help to increase public awareness of this aspect of our heritage.”

Over the years, Timothy Eaton’s statue has become popular with Eaton’s shoppers, who stopped to rub the toe of his shoe for good luck -- a tradition that the ROM will continue. Outside of the Museum’s three recently-opened Discovery Galleries, this will be one of the few items that visitors will be actively encouraged to touch.

The Victorian bronze statue of Timothy Eaton (1834-1907) portrays the founder of the T. Eaton Company, larger than life, seated in an ornate wooden armchair with a long fringe of tassels around the base. Unveiled on December 8th, 1919, the statue reflected the high regard that Eaton's employees, who contributed $15,000 towards the project, had for the man who initiated a work day ending at 6 p.m., with a half day holiday on Saturday, and created the famous company slogan, "Goods satisfactory or money refunded." The sculptor, Ivor Lewis (1882-1958), enjoyed a distinguished career with the T. Eaton Company, ultimately rising to become one of its Directors. A founder of the Graphic Arts Club, Lewis was an accomplished portrait painter, and a talented actor and singer who contributed to many theatricals in the Toronto area.

The Royal Ontario Museum will display the statue in Eaton Court, a spacious multi-purpose room built with a generous donation from the late Mrs. Signy Eaton. In time, it will be complimented by an installation of decorative arts from the ROM's Canadiana collection, which is enjoying a growing international reputation for its strengths in decorative arts, costumes, textiles, and design.

During its long history, the T. Eaton Company was one of the most important retailers of applied arts and fashion for Canadians at every economic level. Eaton's Catalogues were often the only way that people living in isolated areas found out about the latest merchandise and products. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Eaton's College Street store played a key role in introducing modern design to Toronto. From 1920 until 1929, the T. Eaton Company provided funding for the Museum to acquire a collection of antique European furniture, which today constitutes the core of the ROM’s European furniture collection. Many of these pieces are prominently displayed in the Samuel European Galleries.

 

 

Issue date:
November 4, 1999

For more information:
Media Relations
Tel.: 416.586.5547
Fax: 416.586.8022
E-mail: media@rom.on.ca

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