“i’m not saying my dad’s work is any better than anyone else’s,” she says.
she concedes that the library would face a greater hue and cry if it failed to move the stained-glass window to the new location, and that the tolgesy medallions would be much easier to move than the mosaics, but she would like the library to reconsider its decision. “my dad’s and art price’s would be more difficult to move, but the cost would be about the same.”
indeed, the library says the fact that the mosaics and chandelier are “fully integrated into the building’s architecture” is a contributing factor in not moving them, adding that their removal could possibly damage them. but a 2020 assessment prepared by ottawa art conservation company atelier ville-marie outlines the steps necessary to restore, remove and re-install all four works, and provides cost estimates for each.
price’s chandelier, at $107,500, is the costliest, followed by the stained-glass window, at $63,000. it would take slightly less — $54,000 — to restore and relocate trottier’s mosaics, while tolgesy’s medallions are the bargain of the bunch, at $33,500.
man’s fortune and man’s learning, a pair of eight-foot-wide cast aluminum orange medallions created by victor tolgesy, hang over the main entrances to the ottawa public library. they will move to the new location.
tony caldwell
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postmedia
but the point is that each can be relocated. the city isn’t interested in acquiring them, also citing possible damage and inherent costs. according to dan chenier, general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services, the city has recommended to the library that it donate the pieces to the building’s new owners.