Brian Frederick Foss (born 1955) is a Canadian art historian, academic, curator, and writer who specializes in the art history of Canada and British war art, especially of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Career

Foss was born in

Aklavik, Northwest Territories Aklavik (Inuvialuktun: ''Akłarvik'') (from the Inuvialuktun meaning '' barrenground grizzly place'') is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Until 1961, with a population over 1,500, the community served ...

and grew up in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

.Brian Foss biography, Brian Foss file, National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives He received his BA Honours in History from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

(1979), his MA in Canadian Art History from Concordia University, Montreal (1985), and his PhD in the History of Art from University College at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

(1991). From 1982, he taught art history in Montreal including in the Department of Art History at Concordia University (1988-2009; Full Professor from 2004), where he was also Associate Dean in the Faculty of Fine Arts (2002-2006, 2007-2009). In 2009 he became Professor of Art History, and Director of the School for Studies in Art and Culture (2009-2021), at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. From 2014 to 2015, he was the Craig Dobbin Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies,

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, Ireland. In addition to teaching, he has supervised M.A. and Ph.D. theses in the area of Canadian art history as well as commenting on radio on Canadian art.

Writing

Foss organized, co-organized or contributed essays to exhibitions on the art of Robert Harris (1991), Molly Lamb Bobak (1993), Miller Brittain (1998), Mary Hiester Reid (2000), and Edwin Holgate (2005), and has curated exhibitions on a broad range of subjects from the growth of the modern city to the development of art collections. He was the co-editor of ''The Visual Arts in Canada: The Twentieth Century'' (Oxford University Press, 2010) for which he also wrote the chapter on "Into the New Century: Painting, 1890-1914", and is author of the e-book ''Homer Watson: Life and Work'' (Art Canada Institute, 2018). With Jacques Des Rochers of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal he co-organized the monumental exhibition ''1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group'' (2015), which took its curators ten years to put together, and which the ''

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

'' said dispelled the mythology surrounding the group and placed the artists in their proper context. He also wrote for the Beaver Hall exhibition catalogue the chapter on "Out on the Town: Modernism, Arts and Entertainment in Montreal, 1920-1933" and was featured in the CBC 1 documentary on the show. His book ''War Paint: Art, War, State and Identity in Britain 1939-45'' was published by

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Press (2007) and was one of the five books shortlisted for that year’s international William M.B. Berger prize for British Art History. He has had a long involvement with the ''Journal of Canadian Art History'' and as a member of the editorial team of ''RACAR'' (Revue d’art Canadian / Canadian Art Review).

Awards

* 2003: Distinguished Teaching Award, Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal. * 2013: Universities Art Association of Canada Award for service to the UAAC and for commitment to Art History. * 2016: (with co-curator Jacques Des Rochers) ''1920s Modernism in Montreal: The Beaver Hall Group'' (2015) won the Award of Outstanding Achievement for an Art Exhibition from the

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; , ''AMC''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations ...

, while the accompanying catalogue won the Prix d'excellence for exhibition catalogues from the Société des Musées Québécois, and the Melva J. Dwyer Award from the Art Libraries Society of North America. * 2022-2027: Chancellor’s Professor,

, Ottawa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Brian 1955 births Living people Canadian art curators Canadian gay writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian art historians 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Concordia University alumni University of Winnipeg alumni Alumni of University College London Academic staff of Carleton University Academic staff of Concordia University People from Aklavik