Boris EDWARDS: return
UPD: Thanks to great attention to the project, the team managed to find a donor who fully covers the project costs! On the author's initiative, this amount will be transferred to the "History Shelf" project. We thank Maksymyuk Taras, Maidanyuk Natalia, Kudlach Volodymyr, Kudlach Vasyl, Kozyrod Ivan, Demyanyshyna Larysa, Dyba Natalia, Zabortseva Elvira, Nagulyak Petro and anonymous benefactors for supporting the project.
Almost a century has passed since the sculptor and renowned cultural figure Boris Vilyamovich Edwards (1860–1924) passed away. Driven from his homeland by the tragic circumstances of the Civil War, he forever lost hope of returning to his native Odesa and found eternal peace under the sky of Malta.
In his work he combined the beauty of antiquity and the foundations of Christianity, academism and realism, the creative potential of an artist and successful entrepreneur, opening the first bronze foundry in Ukraine. He had the honor of holding the first sculpture exhibition in Odesa in 1885.
Streets and squares, museum exhibitions of Odesa and other cities of Ukraine, Russia, England, Malta are adorned with the master's works, which are a source of pride for Odesans and all who honor art. The largest high-artistic collection of Edwards' works is currently kept in the Odesa National Art Museum. Residents and guests of the million-strong city admire his works daily, paying tribute to the author. But until now, his house – an architectural monument of local significance, lacks a memorial plaque worthy of the master's memory.
An initiative group, which includes renowned art historians, artists, collectors, journalists of Odesa, appealed to the public with a proposal to install a memorial plaque to sculptor B.V. Edwards on the two-story residential building, an architectural monument of local significance, at the address: Odesa, Lyapunova Lane, 3 (Primorsky district), erected by Edwards in 1893.
The marble plaque will include a portrait relief image of the sculptor and text of the following content: "In this house from 1893 to 1919 lived the outstanding Ukrainian sculptor, member of the Society of South Russian Artists, academician Boris Vilyamovich EDWARDS (1860 – 1924)".
The manufacture and installation of the plaque to the outstanding compatriot was supported and approved by the historical-toponymic commission of Odesa City Council, and is carried out in accordance with current legislation based on the Order of the Odesa Mayor dated 29.10.2021 (№ 949).
Over the past two decades, various public organizations, including foreign ones, have voiced calls to perpetuate the sculptor's name. It is gratifying that for the 160th anniversary of B.V. Edwards' birth, a number of new art historical studies were published, the first monograph was published. The sculptor's name became better known to the public. Installing a memorial plaque to Edwards is the next step toward honoring him.
It is time to pay due respect to the outstanding sculptor who raised the plastic arts of Odesa to an unprecedented height, thereby glorifying our city.
