Outdoor bronze monument by Marlene Hilton Moore honours women in Halifax

The Volunteers Monument

A bronze monument to wartime women volunteers by Canadian sculptor Marlene Hilton Moore was unveiled at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market in November, 2017. Commissioned by the Halifax Women’s History Society and titled “The Volunteers” Hilton Moore’s new sculpture recognizes these WWII workers through three life-sized bronze figures: a girl pulling a wagon of scrap metal; an African-Nova Scotian woman holding a tray of food; and an older woman seated and knitting with a Mi’kmaq basket on her lap. The figures are mounted on platforms of Nova Scotia granite.

According to a Canadian Press news article titled “Halifax Shatters the ‘Bronze Ceiling’ by Creating Monument to Women” not only is this new outdoor bronze sculpture the first to recognize the role of women in the history of the war but also it is the first to feature an African-Nova Scotian woman.

Moore observed that she has produced 30 figures to date with only three previous to this commission being women.

Outdoor sculptures in bronze and steel by Marlene Hilton Moore are available at Oeno Gallery and currently on exhibit in the Sculpture Garden.