OBSESSED WITH A TREASURE HUNT FROM 1982

I have spent a few late nights and couple of days wandering the streets on Montreal obsessing about a treasure box buried here 37 years ago. The Secret was a treasure hunt written as a fantasy tale and including the following twelve paintings that match with a poem, both of which contain clues to finding a plexiglass cube containing a work of pottery art that contains a key leading to a gem.
Only two were found, and the game was thought to be over when the author Byran Preiss died in a car accident. But after learning of in on a recent flight over the Atlantic on a treasure hunting documentary, I have pored over photo number 9, and tried to find my own clues.



Here are some of the clues I found.

This is the image associated with Montreal. It's almost irrefutable now. What is clear is that there is a Dutch connection, which I find strange because that is not at all an obvious group to choose for this place. There are some interesting resemblances, but they may be a bit of a stretch. Here is the Rembrandt that, I agree, seems to underpin the style of the painting by artist Jean Jude Palencar.

Humans tend to see human faces in the images that are around us. They call this pareidolia. It's the phenomenon that leads us to see the man in the moon, or figures in the changing clouds above, or, in rock formation, before it fell, "the old man of the mountain"of New Hampshire fame.

We also sometimes take things and attribute more and different meaning to data than is actually the case. This is called apophenia. Both I, and others, are at great risk of these phenomena, but it can lead to some pretty impressive detective work.

Here is the breakdown of one treasure hunter's findings:

I am afraid that this same hunter makes a compelling argument that the casque was in the plaza in front of Place Ville Marie, and due to renovations, will likely never be found. But this hunt is less about certainty, and more about the search, so I have taken a few walking tours myself to see what I could find.

Also a highly renovated place, the Place du Canada has a statue of John A MacDonald that some claim looks like the man in the image. I'm not that convinced, but here is the statue that stands downtown, near an equestrian that represents the fallen at the Boer Wars, the closest monument I have found to the Netherlands connection, also in the old Golden Square Mile.

Close-up of Sir John

Facing south from Rene Levesque (Dorchester Avenue in a prior era)

Facing towards the east, in front of the still grand SunLife building, in Dorchester Square.

Whoever did this website, they have been delving down this and other rabbit holes for a lot longer than I have. 

My ideas: 

The calendula flower confirms for me that this is Montreal, with the numbers 67 representing the Exposition that the city is famous for. I also see a open musical note in the 6, which could represent the Montreal Jazz festival.

The tesselation of squares remind me of multiple buildings around the city 

These are the two images that have been solved to date:

Chicago: Grant Park: Irish/Scottish immigrants: the water tower is the far right tower on the highest level, minus the windmill.

Cleveland: Greek Cultural Garden: Greek immigrants.