Eric Brown (1877–1939) was the first Director of the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
. His tenure was from 1910–1939.
Career and biography
Eric Brown was born in Nottingham, England. His brother was the British landscape painter Sir
John Arnesby Brown
Sir John Alfred Arnesby Brown (29 March 1866 in Nottingham – 16 November 1955 in Haddiscoe, Norfolk) was an English landscape artist, "one of the leading British landscape artists of the 20th century" Upon his arrival, Brown superintended a loan exhibition of British paintings in Montreal and worked for the
Art Gallery of Toronto
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...
. While in Montreal and Toronto, Brown met Sir Edmund Walker (1848–1924), who hired him first to undertake work for the Toronto Art Association and then as both Secretary for the Advisory Arts Council and Curator of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. In 1910, Brown married Florence Maud Sturton (1881–1978) of Holbeach, Lincolnshire, a teacher and graduate of
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
The National Gallery of Canada
In 1910, Brown was appointed as the first director of the National Gallery of Canada. Initially the gallery was a collection of the diploma works of academicians, supplemented by occasional gifts; thus Brown's primary concern was the establishment of the Gallery and the building of its collections as well as sending exhibitions and making extended loans to other museums across the country. To these ends, Brown traveled across Canada and frequently in Europe and the United Kingdom, developing contacts with art historians, dealers, and advisors. In 1938, he organized a
retrospective
A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...
exhibition, ''A century of Canadian art'', at the
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
in London. His wife, historian, Maud Brown, was keenly interested in art and art education, and took an interest in establishing art education programs for children at the National Gallery.
The Group of Seven
Brown was an early supporter of the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
, and began buying their paintings for the Gallery’s collection several years before the Group was officially established. Brown also made sure they were well represented in Canadian art shows at the Wembley Exhibition in England.
Honours and awards
He was an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours and received the
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
Silver Jubilee Medal (1935) and the King George VI Coronation Medal (1937).
ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...