For more than half a century, renowned literary critic Northrop Frye made Victoria College at the University of Toronto his intellectual home: he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy, taught English to students from 1939 to 1991, and wrote such influential works as Fearful Symmetry and Anatomy of Criticism. This bronze sculpture – located near Northrop Frye Hall on the Victoria College campus – shows the esteemed professor in a state of contentment, surrounded by beloved books.
The life-size statue was created by artists Darren Byers and Fred Harrison. The figure is a modified version of a sculpture in Frye’s hometown of Moncton, New Brunswick.
The artists adapted the statue so it reflected Frye’s time at U of T and in Toronto: among his stack of books is a class planner, and in his right hand is his wife Helen Kemp Frye’s sketch of a party. The book he holds contains images of an angel, the Leviathan and the divine creator, which allude to his religious background and to poet William Blake – whose work is the focus of Fearful Symmetry.
Another one I missed. Back to U of T for a gander!