Crockart, James Bisset

CROCKART, James Bisset (1885-1974), a native of Stirling, Scotland, was born on 19 July 1885 and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He served his apprenticeship with a local architect from 1902 to 1909, then moved to Chipping Campden where he became an assistant to Charles R. Ashbee, a leading Arts & Crafts architect in England. After emigrating to Canada in 1911 he briefly resided in Montreal and worked as assistant to Saxe & Archibald for eight months, then moved to Saskatoon where he formed a partnership with Robert M. Thompson (see list of works under Thompson & Crockart). Their collaboration was shortlived, and ended in 1914 when Crockart returned to Montreal to enlist and serve overseas during WWI. After 1920 he spent much of his career as a commercial artist and industrial designer in Montreal until the late 1940's. He died in Huntington, Que. on 19 April 1974 (death notice Gazette [Montreal], 22 April 1974, 55; biog. Canadian Municipal Journal [Montreal], ix, July 1913, 299-300; inf. Saskatchewan Assoc. of Architects)