Harry Orr McCurry (1889-1964) joined the staff of the National Gallery of Canada in 1919 where he served as Assistant Director (1919-1939) and as Director (1939-1955). McCurry was a strong advocate of the Gallery's outreach and art education programmes and he travelled across the country in support of the programmes. McCurry married Dorothy Lampman Jenkins, a musician and Lady Figure Skating Champion of Canada (1922 and 1923). The McCurry circle included National Gallery of Canada staff members as well as artists, critics, scholars, and members of their Christian Science church. They and their guests holidayed at Kingsmere, Quebec, where both the McCurry and Jenkins families had cottages.

The collection consists mainly of photographs from the personal collection of the McCurry family. There are photographs of: H.O. McCurry at various stages of his career; former Director of the National Gallery of Canada Eric Brown (1877?-1937) and his wife Maud (1881-1978); camping and skiing expeditions hosted by the McCurry's at Kingsmere, Quebec, and other locations (1930s-1950s); the wedding of art historian Julius Held (1905- ) to National Gallery of Canada staff member Ingrid 'Pim' Maerta; a western tour undertaken by McCurry and his wife (1930); Goodridge Roberts' (1904-1974) painting classes, held at the Jenkins family cottage; the National Gallery of Canada staff at work (ca. 1920s-1930s); parliamentary correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, Lloyd Roberts (1884-1966) and his wife Leila; Saturday morning art classes at the National Gallery of Canada; the summer session of the School of Fine Arts at Queen's University (1947); a National Gallery of Canada staff party at Kingsmere (1950s); and a press photograph of Canadian artist A.Y. Jackson (1882-1974) and Canadian sculptor Frances Loring (1887-1968). There is also a large selection of family photographs from the McCurry and Jenkins families (including copies of photos from the National Archives of Canada) and a series of contact sheets made from 71 negatives that form part of the collection. The contact sheets include a mixture of family photographs and photographs of various individuals and artists. In addition, the fonds includes 2 sound recordings by George Englesmith entitled The Influence of Bauhaus on Canadian Design.

[Title of item], McCurry Family collection, Library and Archives, National Gallery of Canada.