A Vancouver Island artist’s work commemorating an import figure in WWII is now out and circulating in the country.
Designed by Victoria-based artist, Claire Watson, the Loonie honours Elsie MacGill, who the Royal Canadian Mint says broke barriers as an engineer during the war and was known as “Queen of the Hurricanes.”
They add she was responsible for many firsts and was celebrated for setting up the Canadian production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane, creating over 1,450 in the process.
She is also credited as the first woman in Canada to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, to graduate with a master’s in aeronautical engineering, to become a practicing engineer and the first North American woman to design an aircraft and produce it under her direction.
The loonie is the fourth coin Watson has designed for the Royal Canadian Mint, however, the first three are commemorative coins that are not used for purchasing. When Mint reached out about the design, she jumped at the opportunity.
“When I first learned about the project, I didn’t actually know who Elsie MacGill was, but I was given a design brief, so I looked into her and did a lot of research,” said Watson.
“Even though I’m not a big illustrator of people I usually tend to focus on landscapes and west coast stuff, but I also really like a challenge.”
The design features MacGill holding a pair of rolled up blueprints with a Maple Leaf Trainer II flying overhead and a Hawker Hurricane beside her. Her name is also engraved below the fighter plane.
Watson says the designs are put together using her iPad, which she says allows for a lot of changes and that is needed when working with organizations like Mint.
The Loonie went into circulation on Tuesday, and around 3 million have been produced. Two million of them have been coloured.
Watson says seeing her art on a coin circulating is an interesting experience and looks forward to seeing it in person.
“The other coins when I did them were definitely major career highlights, but having a circulation loonie coming out definitely tops it,” said Watson. “I’m looking forward to maybe next year, I’ll probably see one.”
