Packing up Portraits of Honour: Cambridge memorial on the move
A Cambridge memorial that pays tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers is on the move.
The Portraits of Honour oil painting, created by the late Dave Sopha, along with his military memorabilia lives in a space within the Kin Canada building in Cambridge. But on March 14, the city received council approval to take ownership of the building.
That means Terri Sopha, Dave’s daughter, has to pack up the paintings which her father put tens of thousands of hours into, along with all of his military tributes.
“The thought of taking this down is so overwhelmingly intimidating,” Sopha said, looking up at her father’s painting. “I don't sleep sometimes at night because I think about how we're doing it.”
She says the city has given her until May 19 to clear out the space. But she says they are willing to give her a few extra days if needed. The city also isn’t leaving her without a place to go.
“Most of my memorabilia is coming with me and we are going to the old Scout House building in Preston on Queenston Road,” said Sopha.
Word of the new space has provided a sense of relief for Sopha because she feared she would not only have to pack away her father’s legacy, but the legacy of the 158 faces on the Portraits of Honour.
ORIGINAL WORK TO BE PUT IN STORAGE
Here’s the catch, the original piece won’t be coming with her to the new location. She will be downsizing from her current space of about 3,200 sq. ft. to around 2,000 sq. ft.
“The building is not big enough, the ceilings are not high enough. They're eight-foot ceilings, this [painting] is 11.5-feet-high, and 43-feet in length,” she says.
Sopha is thankful though, saying the city has offered to help create a replica of her father’s famed artwork to fit in the new space. She says they’ve also provided experts with advice on how to safely preserve the massive painting. Still, it doesn’t make the thought of putting the original in storage any easier.
“Knowing my father the way that I did, he would be so worried about the transition,” she said through tears.
Terri is exploring options to find a permanent place for the painting. One possibility she has considered is selling it to the federal government, so it can be displayed in a national museum and enjoyed by the entire country.
In the meantime, while all her father’s work won’t be under the same roof, she knows he’ll be by her side every step of the way – as will all the soldiers commemorated in the Portraits of Honour.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.