Alan Best (1910–2001) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and natural historian, who was curator of Stanley Park Zoo,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

for over 20 years.

Early life and education

Best was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1910, the third of five sons of English immigrants. Soon after his birth, the family moved to

Galiano Island Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayn ...

and then to

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled by ...

, both

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ...

of British Columbia. Best attended Shawnigan Lake School for Boys.

Career

Aged 17, Best moved to New York, where he began sculpting animals at the American Museum of Natural History. In 1931–32, he studied in Paris at the Académie Julian. Moving to London, he had various sculpture jobs. He worked for the ceramics company Josiah Wedgwood and Sons for which he designed ornamental figures of athletes and of a mandarin duck, and was assistant to British sculptor

Eric Kennington Eric Henri Kennington (12 March 1888 – 13 April 1960) was an English sculptor, artist and illustrator, and an official war artist in both World Wars. As a war artist, Kennington specialised in depictions of the daily hardships endured by s ...

. He worked for the zoologist Julian Huxley as a field worker and as tutor to his sons, and when Huxley was appointed curator of the London Zoo in 1936, Best became assistant zoo curator. During

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Best served with the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard ...

. After the war, he returned to British Columbia. He started a children's zoo in 1950, and in 1951, became curator of Stanley Park Zoo, Vancouver. He was a noted authority on penguins, and made several expeditions to the Antarctic to capture different species for the zoo.

Personal life

He was the uncle of the Canadian filmmaker Alan Best.

References

Académie Julian alumni 1910 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists Zoo directors 20th-century Canadian zoologists {{Canada-sculptor-stub