About Haydn Davies

Haydn Llewellyn Davies, a Canadian artist whose large wood and steel sculptures stand outside public buildings in several Canadian cities died at the age 86. After earning a commission from Lambton College, Davies went on to display his work around the world. Davies has work in the permanent collections of Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Moderna e Contemporenea in Rome, Museo d'Arte Moderna in Venice and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels.

His steel and wood sculptures stand outside the Bell Canada Centre in Toronto, the provincial offices in Windsor and the Art Centre in Burlington, Ontario.

Davies was born in Rhymney, Wales, on November 11, 1921, and his family came to Canada when he was about nine. He began studying art at Central Technical School and the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, graduating in 1939.

He served overseas in Bomber Command in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). A poster done by Davies during his service in the RCAF is in the permanent poster collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

When he returned to civilian life, Davies began a career in graphic design and advertising. He became a senior vice-president and director of McCann-Erickson Advertising of Canada but resigned in 1976 at the age of 55 to become a full-time sculptor. The Lambton commission brought him international renown and he took part in group and solo exhibits around the world.

Davies was an artist-in-residence at Indian River College in Vero Beach, Florida in the 1980s and another of his public sculptures stands on the grounds of the college. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy and also guest-lectured at University of Toronto. In 2004, his sculpture Algoma Blue, which stands outside the Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie was designated a heritage piece by the Canadian government.