Francis Jack "Frank" McEwen, OBE (19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum administrator. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the He is best remembered today for his efforts to bring attention to the work of Shona artists in Rhodesia, and for helping to found the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe ’s Contemporary He was awarded the OBE in 1963. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
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Early life
Born in Mexico and brought up in Devon, McEwen grew up surrounded by art from West Africa, which his father had collected on various business trips. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. In 1926 he went to Paris to study art history at the Sorbonne and the Institut d'Art et d'Archaeologie; there, his teacher was Henri Focillon. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Art history is the Academic study of objects of Art in their Historical development and stylistic contexts i Henri Focillon ( 1881 - March 3, 1943) was a French art historian Through Focillon, McEwen met and befriended artists such as Constantin Brancusi, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Fernand Leger, and gained a deal of respect for the teachings of Gustave Moreau, which were to influence much of his later career. Constantin Brâncuşi, ( February 19, 1876 &ndash March 16, 1957) konstanˈtin brɨnˈkuʃʲ was an internationally renowned Romanian Georges Braque ( May 13, 1882 &ndash August 31, 1963) was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954 was a French Artist, known for his use of Colour and his fluid brilliant and original draughtsmanship Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Joseph Fernand Henri Léger ( February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painter, sculptor, and Gustave Moreau ( April 6, 1826 &ndash April 18, 1898) was a French Symbolist painter.
Upon Focillon's advice, McEwen chose to become a painter rather than a lecturer, which led to a fight with his family, as a result of which he was cut off. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e He wandered around Europe for some years, taking menial jobs at power stations to fund his travels. A power station (also referred to as generating station, power plant or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation of From 1928 until 1929 he spent time in Flanders, painting wildflowers and other subjects in his spare time. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. A wildflower (or wild flower) is a Flower that grows wild meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted He exhibited in London at both the Goupil Salon and the New English Art Club. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The New English Art Club ( NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.
McEwen eventually returned to Paris, where with Foucillon's assistance he found a job as an apprentice to an art restorer who worked on collections at the Louvre; soon he had his own studio and business in the city. Apprenticeship is a system of Training a new generation of practitioners of a skill The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France In 1939 he moved to Toulon, starting an art workshop for the untrained and basing its rules on Moreau's theories. Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large See also Primitivism and Neo-primitivism Naïve art is characterized by a childlike simplicity When France fell in 1940 he took a fishing boat to Algiers in the hope that war would not reach the French colonies. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries A fishing vessel is a Ship or Boat used to catch fish in the sea or on a lake or river Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world
World War II
McEwen quickly grew disillusioned with the war, but through contacts with the French Resistance and France's government in exile was able, as a fluent speaker of French, to find work at the headquarters of the Allied Forces. The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. He began work there after November 1942, serving as a civil assistant to General Innes Irons. In January 1945 he transferred to the newly-created British Council. The British Council is a Public Body of the United Kingdom Government which specialises in educational and development opportunities
When McEwen joined its ranks the British Council was attempting to design an exhibition of British art for export to France. Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which Art objects (in the most general sense meet an Audience. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The assignment was difficult, as the French art world was viewed as somewhat chauvinistic and likely to sneer at most British artistic efforts. McEwen chose to design a show around some of Herbert Read's collection of child art, which had largely been gathered from teaching experiments, similar to McEwen's own, done by Marion Richardson and based on Moreau's ideas; such experiments were far ahead of French teaching practices of the era. Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC (1893&ndash1968 was an English anarchist Poet, and Critic of Literature and Marion Richardson (1892&ndash1946 was British Artist, Educator and author who published workbooks on penmanship and handwriting Sixty artworks, many similar in style to post-Impressionist French works, were selected, and the exhibit was a great success. Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and Art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. It was followed by a one-man show for Henry Moore at the end of 1945, and by exhibits of works by Joseph Mallord William Turner, William Blake, and Graham Sutherland, among others. Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986 was an English artist and sculptor. Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 &ndash 19 December 1851 was an English Romantic landscape painter, Watercolourist and William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. Graham Vivian Sutherland OM ( August 24, 1903 &ndash February 17, 1980) was an English Artist. Concurrently, McEwen designed shows of French art in London, and exhibitions of Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Georges Rouault, Leger, and Raoul Dufy followed from 1945 to 1947. Georges Henri Rouault ( 27 May 1871 &ndash 13 February 1958) was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter Raoul Dufy ( 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter The Picasso show, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, incited hundreds of letters of protest to The Times of London, which brought the painter great merriment when McEwen translated them for him. The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design housing a permanent collection The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.
Move to Africa
By 1952 McEwen began to feel that the School of Paris was becoming trivial, and started to show greater interest in African culture. When the idea of founding the Rhodes National Gallery in Salisbury, Rhodesia was floated, McEwen was consulted, and showed great interest in the project. Harare (həˈrɑreɪ or /həˈrɑri/ formerly Salisbury) is the Capital of Zimbabwe. He went to Rhodesia for a month in 1954 for further consultation, but found himself unimpressed with what he saw; there was no local artistic scene to speak of, and the avowed intent of the museum's board of directors was to stock its halls with Old Master paintings. " Old Master " (or " old master " is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such African art was not to have a place in the collection.
McEwen felt that a gallery could only thrive if some sort of artistic exchange was designed, and that there would have to be some sort of local product to make such an exchange worthwhile. When a director for the museum was sought, he applied, with the encouragement of both Picasso and Herbert Read; to his surprise, he was chosen. He asked for a year's grace, and upon receiving it resigned from the Council and sailed from Paris to Mozambique - via Brazil - and around the Cape of Good Hope. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The Cape of Good Hope ( Afrikaans: Kaap die Goeie Hoop, Kaap de Goede Hoop Cabo da Boa Esperança Persian Language: دماغه امید نیک Rio to the Cape - Ships Log Project
Foundation of the Gallery
McEwen arrived in Rhodesia before construction of the Gallery was completed, and set about looking for staff to hire. Among the people he met was Thomas Mukarobgwa, a former policeman who talked to him a great deal about the culture of the Shona people. Thomas Mukarobgwa (1924-1999 was a Zimbabwean painter and Sculptor who worked as a Gallery attendant for much of his career A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a Police force. Regulations stated that all Gallery staff must be ex-policemen, so Mukarobgwa was hired as a cleaner. McEwan gave him materials for drawing and painting, and provided the same materials to other members of the staff. An unofficial workshop of sorts, later to be called the Workshop School, was formed in the basement of the museum; within a year of its foundation painting and drawing had been superseded by carving. Local stones, such as soapstone, serpentine, and verdite were the media of choice. Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a Metamorphic rock, a talc- Schist. The serpentine group describes a group of common rock-forming hydrous Magnesium Iron phyllosilicate (()3 Minerals they Among the artists whose careers began at the museum were Mukarobgwa, Boira Mteki, Joseph Ndandarika, John and Bernard Takawira, and Joram Mariga; along with Josia Manzi, Nicholas Mukomberanwa and others they went on to create one of the first native schools of contemporary art in Africa. Boira Mteki (1946-September 1991 was a Zimbabwean Sculptor. A native of Harare, Mteki was among the founder members of Frank McEwen 's Joseph Ndandarika (c 1941-May 1991 was a Zimbabwean Sculptor known for his figurative works John Takawira (1938-March 1989 was a Zimbabwean Sculptor. Takawira was born in Chegutu, but grew up in Nyanga. Bernard Takawira (1948-1997 was a Zimbabwean Sculptor, the younger brother of John Takawira. Joram Mariga' (1927-December 2000 was a Zimbabwean Sculptor. Born in Nyanga, Mariga was the son of artistic parents and would often watch his father Nicholas Mukomberanwa (1940 - November 2002 was a Zimbabwean sculptor.
The workshop remained an unofficial part of the museum until its wares began to sell abroad via the efforts of Lord Delaware, David Stirling, and others; eventually the board of directors officially accepted responsibility for its activities. Thomas West 3rd (or 12th Baron De La Warr ( July 9, 1577 &ndash June 7, 1618) was the Englishman after whom the bay, Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling DSO OBE (15 November 1915 - 4 November 1990 was a Scottish Laird, Mountaineer, World Its products were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1968, the Musée Rodin in 1971, and London's ICA in 1972. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds Political tensions in Rhodesia grew unbearable, however, and McEwen resigned his post in 1973 to live on his boat in the Bahamas. The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and He took frequent trips to Brazil, but eventually returned to Devon, settling in Ilfracombe. Ilfracombe is a Seaside resort and Civil parish on the north coast of Devon, England with a small Harbour, surrounded by
Marriage
In 1969, McEwen married the future fashion designer Mary McFadden, the former wife of Philip Harari. Mary Josephine McFadden (born October 1 1938 New York City is an American fashion designer and writer They divorced the next year.
Last years and death
With the worldwide rise in interest in Shona carving, McEwen became something of a popular figure in artistic circles, being called upon for comment and to be filmed for various projects. He was content to live simply, yet still expressed concern that with a broadening of its popularity, the quality of Shona art might become compromised.
McEwen died at his home in Devon in 1994.
References
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mcewen, Francis Jack |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McEwen, Frank |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | 20th century English art historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 19, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mexico |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 15, 1994 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Ilfracombe, Devon |
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