George Fry (26 December 192920 September 2014) was an English-born Canadian artist, educator and administrator. He was the director of the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design from 1976 to 1993.

Education and early career

Fry studied illustration and theatre design at Goldsmith's College and earned a National Diploma in Design (NDD). While a student at Goldsmith's he worked in the properties department at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, where he made

papier-mâché file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...

masks for a production of ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" () is an 1844 original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, New Fairy Tales. First Vo ...

''. Fry contacted Annette Mills after seeing her performing with her puppet

Muffin the Mule Muffin the Mule is an animated puppet animal character in a British 1946 to 1955 television show for children. The puppet was made in 1933 for Ann Hogarth. The original TV shows featuring the animal character himself were presented by Annette ...

on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television program ''

For the Children ''For the Children'' was the umbrella title given to British television programmes and sequences targeted at children of school age, in the early years of the BBC One, BBC Television Service. The title was first used in 1937 at 3pm as the openin ...

'' in late 1949. She engaged him to create a new puppet, Prudence Kitten, who first appeared with her on ''For the Children'' in June 1950. Fry worked with Mills at the BBC for five years. He later worked as a freelance illustrator and lectured on art history at Ravensbourne College of Art.

Career in Canada

Fry emigrated in 1963 and settled in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, where he was hired as a teacher by John Hooper, the Saint John city schools art director. In 1966 he became co-ordinator of art education for the city. In 1976 he was appointed director of the New Brunswick School of Arts and Crafts in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

. As director he introduced foundation courses in "design drawing and art history and photography" shifting the school's emphasis from "craft training to craft education". He also introduced a Native studies program, under the leadership of Elder Gwen Bear. When Fry retired from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design in 1993 he became a full-time artist. His primary artistic practice was mask-making. His solo exhibition "Creatures of Fancy" opened the New Brunswick Fine Crafts Centre in Fredericton in 1998. During his career Fry was involved in over 45 group and solo exhibitions. Fry designed the masks and costumes for ''The Enchanted Forest'', the ninth in R. Murray Schafer's '' Patria'' series of

music theatre Music theatre is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like opera and musical theatre. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approach ...

works. Fry died on 20 September 2014. In 2015 the exhibition gallery at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design was renamed The George Fry Gallery.

Honours

* New Brunswick Excellence Award for cultural development and arts education (1994) *

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...

for service to Canada (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, George 1929 births 2014 deaths British emigrants to Canada Artists from New Brunswick People from Bromley People from Fredericton Canadian art educators Canadian arts administrators