What happened to midtown's 'Business Man'?

[attach]7199[/attach]Is the “Business Man” on permanent vacation?

The bronze sculpture, one in a series by late Canadian artist William McElcheran, has been absent for months now from its usual perch on St. Clair Avenue East, near Yonge Street.

The trench coat and fedora-clad figure, seen with binder tucked under left arm and seemingly in a perpetual hurry, was a fixture on the corner where the St. Clair streetcar tracks meet their eastern terminus. Was he handed a pink slip, mid-stride?

It’s more like a leave of absence, it turns out.

Joe Mota, property manager for the St. Clair East office building that acquired the work of art, says after repeated vandalism Business Man has been placed in storage, away from the mini-hustle and bustle intersection.

With a McDonald’s takeout kiosk only feet away, it was not uncommon to see the sculpture wearing a melting sundae, discarded
fries at his scurrying feet.

But Mota says the overnight vandalism that prompted management to remove it from sight is far worse than a few strewnabout
leftovers.

In July, the 2½-foot figure had to be taken in for repairs after it was found toppled over and with a mustache drawn with ink
marker on the face.

Others came and added insult to injury.

“The kids used their skateboards against it after the first incident,” Mota says.

Business Man was restored, only to be desecrated in a similar fashion a few weeks later.

If the figure looks familiar, it may be because its cousins too, live on in the public realm: Business Man was McElcheran’s most prolific series.

Scattered in public and private areas in Toronto and across Canada, McElcheran’s businessmen are a satirical and graceful
take on the business elite, according to his biography.

One greets the Yorkville crowd just outside Kinsman Robinson Gallery, the Cumberland Street studio that represents McElcheran’s estate.

Sometimes gallery coowner Paul Robinson arrives at work to find a bandanna wrapped around his head, or flowers in his hand — perhaps a symbolic tip of the hat to Yorkville’s carefree, bohemian beginnings.

Many times, tourists and others pose for pictures with the figure, which appears much more at ease than its hurried St. Clair
kin.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t come to the gallery and someone is interacting with sculpture,” Robinson said
recently.

Outdoor art is, after all, meant to be gently touched and observed up close, he opines.

“I just find it interesting how in Toronto they really identify with outdoor sculpture and take a personal interest in it,” Robinson
said.

He remarked that it’s unfortunate and “disturbing”, however, when vandals take advantage of that urban space.

These days, there are concerns other than vandalism about the security of outdoor sculpture. As bronze becomes a hot commodity on the scrap market, casts have been known to fall prey to thieves. Robinson said he’s pleased to hear the sculpture on St. Clair is only in storage and hasn’t been made off with.

Mota is aware of that possible eventuality should the figure be returned to its outdoor home. So, it will remain under lock and key until management figures out how to protect it.

“It’s getting to cost me a lot of money just to keep cleaning it up and reinstalling,” Mota says, adding he’s considering moving the sculpture into the lobby, where it once stood.

A likely letdown for those passersby who, with their own fedora on head and binder in hand, were afforded a moment’s joy and a little chuckle each morning as they rushed off to work.