Elisabeth Anne Philbrick Hall aka Jan Allan
"A copy need not be identical to be
considered plagiarism."
JAN ALLAN was the name used by Elisabeth Anne Philbrick Hall on all her sculptures for Contemporary Arts (CA). With the great demand for
dog sculptures by the public, CA employed Anne Philbrick Hall. In addition to dogs she did a wide assortment of animals including horses, birds
and more. Fred Press rates her as one of the finest American animal sculptors.
Anne Philbrick Hall attended the Massachusetts College of Art where she majored in sculpture. She assisted in evening classes in sculpture
and drawing. Her late husband was a professional handler and she was an assistant
handler. They bred Kerry Blue Terriers, and at one time also had cocker
spaniels and English Setters.
One of her English Setter sculptures is in the permanent collection of the
prestigious Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, which features a collection of the work of the finest American sculptors. She was the sculptor
of Northeastern University's "King Husky." Many dog clubs commissioned her for their awards.
At one time Anne Philbrick Hall designed beautiful pins and charms in silver or gold, which were sold at the dog shows and elsewhere.
CONTEMPORARY ARTS (CA) of Boston was founded in 1939 by Fred Press and his business partner, Alan Fox. The company employed skilled craftsmen
to reproduce the original sculptures of Fred Press, Jan Allan (Anne Philbrick Hall), and Ann Dyer (Louise Shattuck). The company closed in 1947.
Fred Press tells the story of how one day walking past a Woolworth's he noticed some ceramic dogs in the
window. They were Cocker spaniels which he recognized as the "Jan Allan" cocker. The only
difference was the size which was a bit smaller due to the shrinkage of the firing of the ceramic
and hair lines which had been cut into the model before the molds were made.
Since CA copyrighted all of their original sculptures, they took the Woolworth Company
to court for infringement of copyright.
After six years of trials, appeals, etc. the case was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court who handed down a landmark decision in copyright law
in favor of
CA. Since an effort was made to change the original work of art through shrinkage and manipulation of the texture, a statement was inserted
into copyright law to the effect that "A copy need not be identical to be
considered plagiarism."
Jan Allan Gallery! Click on the thumbnail to see a
larger picture. We welcome your contributions to this gallery. These
items are not for sale.
