F. St. George Spendlove

F. St. George Spendlove
Born	April 23, 1897 Montreal, Canada
Died	May 10, 1962 Toronto, Canada
NSA member	British Isles 1935 - 1936
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F. St. George Spendlove (April 23, 1897 - May 10, 1962) was a Canadian Bahá’í who helped develop the Bahá’í communities of Canada and England. In his career he as a successful career as a curator of fine arts.

Biography

Spendlove was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1897 into a prominent family and he was educated by private tutors rather than attending school. He enlisted in the army in 1916 and fought in Europein the First World War during which he suffered a concussion which caused nerve damage to his ears. He returned to Montreal in 1919 but was unable to work for two years during which he recovered from the war.

In approximately 1921 Spendlove discovered the Bahá’í Faith and investigating the religion, often visiting William and May Maxwell's home in Montreal to learn from them and he ultimately accepted the religion. He accepted the religion after a period of study and became an active member of the community teaching at the Green Acre Summer School. He met Dorothy Spurr, a New York Bahá’í, at Green Acre and they married in 1929 and had a son, David, in 1933 and daughter, Dorothy, in 1936.

Spendlove established a career as a fine art dealer in the 1920's and from 1932 to 1933 he embarked on an extensive business trip touring India, Far East Asia, and visiting Palestine. He briefly went on pilgrimage while in Palestine and met with Shoghi Effendi who invited him to make a longer pilgrimage. In 1935 he was invited to England to assist the Royal Academy of England in cataloguing material for an International Exhibition of Chinese Art to be held to Burlington House and he taught himself Chinese while working with the art. He was also an active in Bahá’í activities while in England and served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles helping to develop the bodies understanding of Bahá’í administrative principles for which he was praised by Shoghi Effendi.

In November 1936 Spendlove returned to Canada as he was offered a position on the staff of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto to curate there collections of Japanese and East Indian materials. He worked for the Museum for many years and was ultimately appointed the curator of the Modern European Collection, and he was also appointed as a lecturer of art and archaeology at the University of Toronto eventually becoming an associate professor. In 1952 the Museum appointed him as the curator of its Canadiana Collection and he resigned from his other positions to serve in the role which was his last professional post. He received several honors for his service in his professional career being granted a Fellowship by the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Geographic Society, the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Museums Assocation of London.

In addition to achieving success in his professional career Spendlove remained an active supporter of Bahá’í activities lecturing at the Green Acre Summer School annually delivering courses on the Kitab-i-Iqan and Gleanings and hosting regular firesides in his home in Toronto from the 1930's to the 1950's. In February 1956 Spendlove went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land during which he spent time with Shoghi Effendi.

In February, 1962, Spendlove retired from his position with the Royal Ontrio Museum and he passed away at home in Toronto in May that year.