Eleanor
Milne had been working for seven years as a freelance artist when her sister
Barbara noticed an advertisement for the position of Dominion Carver. Milne
applied in 1961 and won the position over twenty-one other applicants, all
men. She became the fifth Dominion Carver since Confederation and the first
woman. The range of her artistic talent led to a significant change in title,
from Dominion Carver to Dominion Sculptor. The tasks widened to include
the designing of carvings, both wood and stone, stone reliefs, stained-glass
windows, bronzes, restoration and furniture, as well as the carving of most
of the stone elements.
Her team of assistants grew large enough to be separated into carvers and masons. The workshops were located on Somerset Street in Ottawa, but when the carving had to be done on site they had to schedule work around the sittings of the House, sometimes working through the night, sometimes working in the early part of the day.
The Dominion Sculptor had to work in the Gothic tradition since the Parliament Buildings were rebuilt in this style in 1916, after being heavily damaged by fire. Milne's designs and carvings had to contain symbols of Canadian history, the only restriction being that no politicians were to be represented unless dead more than fifty years. She chose her own subjects. All designs had to receive approval from the Public Works Chief Architect and the Speaker of the House.
Milne never signed the work she did as Dominion Sculptor because of the public nature of her work as well as the group effort in executing her designs. She is responsible for the History of Canada frieze, twelve stained-glass windows, twelve stone panels of the British North America Act (now renamed the Constitutional Law of 1867), the Origin of Life in Canada and the Canada Remembers memorial (1995), a work she created after her retirement.