Robert Hugh Ayre LL. D. (April 3, 1900 December 24, 1980) was a pioneering art critic for the

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

who wrote about Canadian art for 20 years (1950-1970) and an author of juvenile fiction inspired by legends of the First Nations.

Career

Ayre was born in

Napinka Napinka is an unincorporated community in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. The village of Napinka was incorporated on May 1, 1908. On January 1, 1986 the village dissolved and Napinka became part of the Rural Municipality of Brenda (now the Munici ...

in rural Manitoba and grew up there. In 1920, he got a job as a cub-reporter for the Winnipeg Telegram. In 1924, he moved to a job at the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1927, he got a job in the Publicity Department of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CNR) in Winnipeg and from then on was assured of financial stability. He began to write free-lance for the

Canadian Forum The ''Canadian Forum'' was a literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine (1920–2000). History and profile ''The Canadian Forum'', A Monthly Journal of Literature and Public ...

magazine from 1928 on. He also wrote articles for the

Queen’s Quarterly ''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly Peer review, peer-reviewed literary and academic journal of cultural studies. Established in 1893, Queen's Quarterly is Canada's oldest academic quarterly. This magazine has won numerous awards includin ...

. From 1932 to 1934 he became editor of the CNR Magazine and met

Lawren Harris Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as one of the founding members of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art, as a visionary in Canadian landsc ...

and through him, other members of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

. He moved to Montreal in 1934 and while working for the CNR, began writing for the

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

. In Ayre’s capacity as a journalist, he attended the Kingston Conference in 1941, and helped found the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

, and having moved back to Winnipeg in 1942, working for the CNR'S Trans-Canada Air Lines, became Chairman for the Federation, Manitoba Region from 1942 to 1943. In 1944, he moved back to Montreal and besides his regular job at the CNR, lectured on radio and at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

's Extension department on Canadian art. He became the editor of

Canadian Art Canadian art refers to the visual arts, visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of ...

in 1944 and until 1959, served in that capacity, co-editing with Donald W. Buchanan, the editor-in-chief. From 1950 to 1970, he was the art editor of the

, retiring in 1970, having published almost 2000 articles on Canadian art. He was a founding member of the Canadian chapter of the International Art Critics Association (AICA Canada), established in 1955. J. Russell Harper said of him in 1976:

I suspect that he has seen more Canadian paintings than any other single individual. In looking, and in writing about what he sees, he has demonstrated enlightenment in the finest humanitarian tradition.

Ayre also wrote a number of short stories and is the author of ''Sketco the Raven'' (1961), based on West Coast First Nation legends. His fonds is at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario.

Awards and honours

* Canada Drama Award (1942); *

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, Montreal, Honorary Doctorate (LL. D.);

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayre, Robert 1900 births 1980 deaths Canadian art critics Canadian columnists Canadian male essayists Journalists from Manitoba Canadian magazine editors Canadian male journalists Canadian theatre critics Novelists from Manitoba 20th-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian male writers

Career

Awards and honours

Further reading

References