Allan Eric John Carr was born in London on January 10, 1914. A gifted painter, he honed his craft at the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London before working as a muralist. During the late 1930s he imparted his knowledge of painting technique to students at the Edinburgh College of Art, where he also founded the Wine and Food Society.

 

Carr enlisted in the British Army in September 1943 and received a commission in the Intelligence Corps. He began his work with the British MFAA in October 1945, succeeding Monuments Man Maj. R.A. “Peter” Skelton as Monuments Officer for the MFAA Branch of the Allied Commission for Austria, British Element. Stationed in Vienna, Carr participated in several conferences regarding the return of looted works of art and other cultural objects hidden by the Nazis in Austria for safekeeping. In addition, he personally delivered a collection of furniture and objets d’art to Schönbrunn Palace, the grand summer residence of the Hapsburg monarchs.

 

Carr moved to the United States in the early 1960s, settling in California and working for the San Francisco Examiner. He continued to nurture his interest in art: in 1962 he gave a guest lecture at the Univeristy of San Francisco Medical Center on Italian frescoes. He died in San Francisco, California on May 3, 2002.

 

The Foundation is very interested in learning more about Allan Carr’s life as well as his service as a Monuments Man. If you have any information, please contact abottinelli@monumentsmenfoundation.org.