Obituary of Jan Gordon in The Observer

The Observer of February 6, 1944 page 2, carried the following obituary of Jan Gordon:

"We regret to record the death in London last week of Mr. Godfrey Jervis (Jan) Gordon, who was Art Critic of THE OBSERVER from January, 1934, until the summer of 1942."

"Jan Gordon was born in Berkshire in 1882. He was (writes a colleague) what some art critics are not - a writer who could handle a brush and handle it freely. To a practical knowledge of more than one branch of technique he added a singularly varied experience of life, having travelled and sketched far and wide in the company of his talented wife, Cora Gordon. His opinions on art were informed with knowledge, sincerity, and a genuine grasp of essentials."

"At Press views and the like Jan Gordon's tall and picturesque figure was almost invariably prominent. He wrote with authority and commanded respect. He had seen life as an artist sees it and, what is more, recorded it as only an artist can do. As a team Jan and Cora Gordon were always to be reckoned with in book and picture, their strongly individual talents being admirably blended in one of the most interesting art-partnerships of modern times. Of their books, perhaps those issued under the generic title of "Two Vagabonds" are specially memorable."

"A member of the Royal Society of British Artists, Jan Gordon was an official war-artist in the previous world conflict, but the wide variety of his interests, which extended to folk music, must not obscure the value of his contribution to the world of letters."

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