Mueller - played a key role in the creation of the Nellie McClung bust in Manitou and the Famous Five monument at the Manitoba Legislature.
Last week, Manitoba artist, Helen Granger-Young, passed away at the age of 100. She is best known throughout the province for her bronze sculpture, unveiled in 2010, of the "Famous Five" located on the Manitoba Legislative grounds. She also has art displayed in the White House, Vatican, Kremlin, and Rideau Hall.
Co-Chair of the Nellie McClung Heritage Site, Barbara Biggar, commented on the death of the artist.
"So many times, we have giants living in our midst that we're not aware of, and Helen was one of those international artists who received international acclaim for her work, whether it was bronze or porcelain. Her work is all around us. We wanted to pay tribute to her passing."
Described as "humble but feisty to the end" by her family, Biggar says Granger-Young was a difference maker.
While the artist's work is most often seen in Manitoba at the Legislature, it can also be found right here in the Pembina Valley, Biggar remarked. In 2004, Granger-Young attended the unveiling of the Nellie McClung bust she sculpted that is on display outside of the Manitou Opera House.
"If you think back, that's almost 20 years ago, she was in her mid-70s," said Biggar. "And so, she played an instrumental role going back twenty years."
According to Biggar, Betty Mueller, who is the past Chair of the Manitou Culture and Heritage Committee, former board member of the Nellie McClung Foundation, and founding member of the Nellie McClung Heritage Site, played a key role in the creation of the Nellie McClung bust in Manitou. She explained, Mueller also worked with Nellie McClung Foundation founder and former Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, Janice Filmon, in ensuring the Famous Five monument was created.
"About twenty years ago, there was an organization created called the Nellie Mcclung Foundation in Winnipeg. Together, they worked with Helen Granger-Young to have her create the Famous Five monument that sits on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature. Incidentally, this was one of the first women statues that were on the grounds of the Legislature, and so that monument was installed in 2010, almost ten years after the Manitou Monument, and certainly is visited by people not only from across Manitoba, but from across Canada."
When reflecting on Granger-Young's legacy Biggar had this to say.
"She was born into a man's world still, 100 years ago. Women had just barely received the vote, but still she had strong support from her husband, a lifelong Winnipegger. And she has strong support for him that really allowed her to navigate a man's world, as an artist and an artist who was world-renowned. That's a tribute to all of us as Manitobans, that we were graced by her presence and by her artistic abilities. And we feel especially grateful at the Nellie Mcclung Heritage site in Manitou, just immensely proud and so sorry. And condolences to all of her family and friends."