Something isn't right in the “Hall of Portraits” at Lisgar Collegiate . Among the rows of Victorian-era disciplinarians and modern principals sit two small bronze plaques, dedicated to two of Lisgar’s earliest principals –and no one seems to be able to put faces to the names.
Lisgar, one of Ottawa’s oldest educational institutions, is searching for pictures of two 19th-century headmasters — Rev. John Robb and Timothy Millar. Now , the Lisgar Alumni Association is asking for the public’s help.
The missing portraits were noticed by David McMahon, Lisgar’s current principal, after renovations were completed on the library last year and staff went to re-hang the gallery of Lisgar educators.
“The school library for many years had quite a gallery of portraits, mostly of past principals and headmasters, as well as a number of outstanding teachers,” says McMahon. “It was natural to wonder whether we could make the roll complete.”
Originally, the school counted five missing principals. The alumni association was able to turn up three of the five.But still missing are the portraits of Robb, who served between 1845 and 1850, and Millar, who held the post from 1856 to 1858.
“In order to recognize their years at Lisgar, bronze plates have been mounted and it is hoped someone may be able to provide a picture at a later time,” the latest alumni newsletter notes. “Perhaps an enterprising alumnus would like to mount a search.”
In the past, the association and its predecessor group of ex-pupils had received donations of pictures and portraits of past Lisgar notables, and have copied other pictures from newsletters or yearbooks dating back to the 1880s.