A metal sculpture was destroyed this summer during preparations for construction of a student residence at Lambton College in Sarnia.<\/p>\n
Published Dec 11, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 3\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
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Construction of a new student residence at Lambton College in Sarnia continues during Wednesday’s snowfall. Photo by Paul Morden \/The ObserverArticle content<\/p>\n
It happened again.<\/p>\n
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A metal sculpture by Walter Yarwood, a founding member of the 1950s Painters Eleven group of Canadian abstract artists, was destroyed this summer during preparations to build a new student residence at Sarnia\u2019s Lambton College.<\/p>\n
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It came 20 years after another outdoor sculpture at the college was destroyed, sparking a lawsuit, but the latest incident is described as inadvertent and something college officials weren\u2019t aware of until after it happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cLambton College and Tilbury Properties Corp., the developer responsible for Lambton College\u2019s new student residence project, regret to share that during early civil works around the site perimeter, a subcontractor working on the project irreparably damaged and inadvertently removed the Walter Yarwood sculpture Sign No. 9,\u201d a joint statement said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe acknowledge the importance this work held for the Yarwood family, Lambton College, and the broader community,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
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Sign No. 9, a sculpture by the late Canadian artist Walter Yarwood, is shown on the grounds at Lambton College in this photo via a Sarnia Historical Society Facebook page post in July 2019. (Handout) Handout<\/p>\n
The damage happened Aug. 7 and the college became aware of it Aug. 12, a college spokesperson said by email.<\/p>\n
The joint statement said the college and contractor reached out to the artist\u2019s family after learning of the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been working directly with the Yarwood family to ensure we remedy this unfortunate situation in a meaningful way, and we intend to share plans . . .when they are final,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The incident came 20 years after the college dismantled Homage, a cedar sculpture by Hayden Davies the school commissioned in the 1970s. A lawsuit was settled after the artist\u2019s death in 2008.<\/p>\n
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Chip Yarwood, Walter Yarwood\u2019s son, said he was \u201cpretty shocked it was gone\u201d after learning of the sculpture\u2019s fate from the college and contractor this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew the piece needed some work,\u201d he said. \u201cI had seen some photos of it taken a couple of years earlier. But I didn\u2019t think it was just going to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Toronto, Walter Yarwood studied commercial art and later became an abstract painter and Painters Eleven member in the 1950s. He later turned to sculpture and created works displayed at the University of Toronto, Winnipeg International Airport, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada and at Queen\u2019s Park in Toronto, according to A Dictionary of Canadian Artists.<\/p>\n
His other commissions include a 1968 monument to Alexander Mackenzie, Canada\u2019s second prime minister, on Sarnia\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n
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A sculpture and historical plaque on Sarnia\u2019s waterfront commemorates Alexander Mackenzie, Canada\u2019s second prime minister. (File photo\/The Observer) Photo by File photo \/The Observer<\/p>\n
The sculpture at Lambton College was \u201ca bit of a rare piece in that style, even for my father,\u201d Yarwood said. \u201cIt\u2019s different than a lot of his bronze and cast work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a welded, kind of angular piece\u201d that was the largest in a series created by his father, Yarwood said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big loss that way,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m very saddened by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yarwood said he believes the college and contractor \u201creally are sincere and want to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an accident and that\u2019s a shame,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yarwood said he suggested finding a way to get some of his father\u2019s other works \u201cinto the public domain.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are works \u201ctucked away . . . (that could be) donated to public institutions where they could be viewed,\u201d Yarwood said.<\/p>\n
He plans to work with others in the \u201cart world\u201d to come up with a proposal for the college and contractor to consider, he said. \u201cI think they\u2019re receptive to the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Seeing more of his father\u2019s works \u201cin the public domain,\u201d somewhere in Canada, \u201cwould be my goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like some representation of something at the college, whether it\u2019s a plaque or something,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Sign No. 9 \u201cisn\u2019t the first piece of my father\u2019s work we\u2019ve lost to development\u201d he said. \u201cSo, it was a bit of a sting that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yarwood said he believes there should be \u201csome sort of a social contact\u201d with public institutions about \u201chow they maintain these things, as just being part of Canada\u2019s art history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leonard Segall, of Sarnia\u2019s Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, said he spoke with college president Rob Kardas about the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very appreciative that they\u2019re working with the artist\u2019s family . . . and hoping they\u2019re successful in bringing another of the artist\u2019s works to public display,\u201d Segall said.<\/p>\n
Asked why the public wasn\u2019t notified when the Yarwood sculpture was damaged in August, the college said it and the contractor\u2019s \u201cshared priority throughout this process has been to work directly with the Yarwood family towards a resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be sharing more broadly when a meaningful outcome has been reached,\u201d the college added.<\/p>\n