Alan Hepburn Jarvis

Alan Hepburn Jarvis

Alan Hepburn Jarvis, art connoisseur, sculptor, editor, author (b at Brantford, Ont 6 July 1915; d at Toronto 2 Dec 1972). Educated at Parkdale Collegiate (Toronto), the University of Toronto (BA, 1938) and Oxford (Rhodes scholar, 1938-39), Jarvis accepted - after learning sculpting with Toronto art collector Douglas Duncan - a scholarship to the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Returning to England in 1941, he became a consultant in the Ministry of Aircraft Production. After WWII, he held a number of appointments there, including director of public relations, UK Council of Industrial Design (1945-47); director, Pilgrim Pictures (1947-50); head, Oxford House (1950-55); chairman, London's Group Theatre; and director, British Handcraft Export Corporation.

In 1955, Jarvis accepted the position of director at the National Gallery, Ottawa. He visited many Canadian galleries, stressing the collection of 20th-century painting and sculpture and encouraging regional art. After a purchasing disagreement concerning European masters, he was asked to resign in 1959. In 1961, Jarvis helped organize the first Canadian Conference of the Arts in Toronto. He edited, and wrote articles for several magazines, and his books include The Things We See (1946), David Brown Milne, 1882-1953 (1955), Frances Loring, Florence Wyle (1969) and Douglas Duncan, A Memorial Portrait (1974).