Frank McEwen

Francis Jack "Frank" McEwen, OBE (19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum administrator. 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. He was awarded the OBE in 1963. 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. 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. Through Focillon, McEwen met and befriended artists such as Constantin Brâncuşi, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and...