Alan Best (sculptor)
Alan Best (1910–2001) was a
Early life and education
Best was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1910, the third of five sons of English immigrants.[1] Soon after his birth, the family moved to Galiano Island and then to Salt Spring Island,[1] both Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Best attended Shawnigan Lake School for Boys.[1]
Career
Aged 17, Best moved to New York, where he began sculpting animals at the
Josiah Wedgwood and Sons for which he designed ornamental figures of athletes and of a mandarin duck,[3] and was assistant to British sculptor Eric Kennington.[citation needed
]
He worked for the zoologist British Merchant Navy.[1] After the war, he returned to British Columbia.[1] He started a children's zoo in 1950,[1] and in 1951, became curator of Stanley Park Zoo, Vancouver.[1] He was a noted authority on penguins,[1] and made several expeditions to the Antarctic to capture different species for the zoo.[4]
Personal life
He was the uncle of the Canadian filmmaker
Alan Best
.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Campbell, Aileen (11 April 1972). "Best leaves the 'best job'". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. 5. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ISBN 9780393039542. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- JSTOR 41859419.
- ^ "Zoo Curator To Antarctic For Penguins". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 10 December 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
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