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Foreword

E.B. Cox has been quietly creating works in his own style for over five decades, all the while carefully avoiding the glare of the media and the promotional support of an art dealer. Now in his eighties, he still rises early each day to begin sculpting in his studio behind his Toronto home. Years ago, as a teenager, he whittled tiny treasures. As he matured, his passion for sculpting grew steadily and a teaching career at Upper Canada College was soon abandoned. Sculpting was to be his full-time profession.

Isolated portions of E. B.'s work have been exhibitedover the years as clients commissioned pieces for specific sites. The Garden of the Greek Gods, featuring huge limestone sculptures of these mythical figures, once adorned the Georgian Peaks Ski Resort and are now displayed permanently at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). In Milton, the grounds of a school are filled with whimsical creatures such as swans and turtles, crafted for the pleasure of the young students.

A Great White Lady sits serenely among the foliage at McMaster University in Hamilton. E. B.'s distinctive bears may be sighted at the CNE and the Guild Inn. At Toronto's landmark Park Plaza Hotel, thousands have delighted at Cox's fish fountain. It is safe to say that virtually anyone who has lived in or visited the Toronto area has experienced the pleasure of viewing E. B. Cos's sculpture. The pieces are everywhere, and many people have enjoyed them for a lifetime without realizing who created these wonderful works. The Toronto area has been enriched by countless Cox installations in locations both prominent and modest.

The mediums vary – materials include marble imported from Italy, alabaster, sodalite, wood, precious and semi-precious stones, and stones unique to Canada. The tools can range from power tools to fine precision instruments. Location also fluctuates – when the bitter days of winter preclude outside work, E. B. focuses on faceting precious stones.

Through the years, E. B.'s powers of perception have not failed him – he is indeed a first-hand observer. The sculptures clearly and confidently demonstrate that art can enhance our vision of the world. At the same time, these sculptures are subtle statements that capture the intrinsic nature of his subjects. We catch a glimpse of a bird's wing, its tail or its beak. We get an impression of the weight, the mass, the lumbering motion of a massive bear. We stare at an inscrutable, implacable face or gaze appreciatively at the simple grace and dignity of the human form.

E. B. seems perfectly aware that the medium, be it wood or stone, must be pushed and prodded, coaxed and cajoled. Often it pushes back, demanding its own form. But art is, by nature, exploratory. Sometimes what the mind's eye perceives changes as the piece progresses – sometimes the finished work is vastly different, sometimes it's better, sometimes it's magic!

Wendy Ingram, Publisher

E. B. Cox: A Life in Sculpture
The Boston Mills Press, 1999
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1550463040

(Left) Portrait of E. B. Cox at age 21 by Barker Fairley, R.C.A.