Robert mckenzie

As a graduate of McGill University of Montreal and his special work with the Physical structure and function of the human body. In his first effort to illustrate it is told that he made some “masks” for the mood and expression of the agony the sport people go through in the final stages of competition. So successful were the masks he went further into modeling the ideal athlete many of which have been cast in bronze.

In the book written in 1930 by Hussey you see most of his works done from the masks to War memorials now in Canada, U.S.A. and Scotland. I will list them at the end of this biography.

But first I want to tell you why I have waited so long to get a book out about this man and his passion for the “Ideal”. His connection with the Olympics is a well-established fact. I talked to one man in Phil. Who told me of them working together for years. It was his idea that the streets were not a good place for children to play and do sports. They worked together for the playgrounds in the various cities in and around Phil.

Another fact is his work in the training of the soldiers for the First World War in getting them in shape. Little did he know that after the war he would take on the task of rehabilitation?

All of these facts were an unknown aspect of his life since I only knew what little I did know were his sculpting works. So when I went to the university to gather what I thought I needed I got the surprise of my life. Two other writers were well into the process of doing separate biographies. One was Dr. Kozor an admirer of his work in physical medicine, and the other was Jean McGill of Toronto.

I think they are long out of print and as hard to find as the first book by Hussey, which I was able to buy over the internet just a few months ago. It will be most of his photos that will be shown in this biography. The photos I took were at the Mill of Kintail, which is outside of Almonte, Ontario. It is his or was his summer studio found in the Old Mill by the small river that flows not far away.

I remember my first visit there, which ended with a cup of tea and a talk with the director and his wife. The upper story was his studio and the lower floor his living area. This has all changed now to include the whole place as a showroom for many of his works. You can spend a good hour or so and get to see what really went on in his place of leisure and work.

I will not talk about his wife who was a pianist nor his assistant who was a Russian.  I do not know what his place was with Tait as he liked to be called but I do know he helped him at some time in his career.

I said I went to the University and went through many papers even though I knew about those two writers doing the same thing. It was while I was there that I found a bust done by F.A.T. Dunbar done around 1876 of one of the professors of the university. It was unsigned but I knew this artists works.

It is not hard to get to know about R.Tait McKenzie with so much of his life already in publication. I will only offer a survey and list of his more important pieces. I could do a book on the medals he has done but I know so few of the prominent people he tried to represent plus the various award categories they represented.

Searching the life and works of Robert Tait McKenzie is a story all by itself. Many Canadians know his work and often not realize just how important he was not only in the Art World but also in Physical medicine.

Robert Tait McKenzie 1867 - 1938