My husband, Barry Lane, who has died aged 72, was the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford (now known as Modern Art Oxford), and established it as an important venue for contemporary visual arts.
He was born in Watford, Hertfordshire; his father, Bill Lane, was a teacher, and his mother, Freda (nee Lathwell), a children’s nurse. He attended Watford boys’ grammar school and Oxford University, and after graduating in philosophy and psychology he remained in Oxford at the Museum of Modern Art, which opened its doors in 1965.
In 1970 he joined the Arts Council as regional art officer, organising 14 touring exhibitions over three years. As the council’s first photography officer and then head of photography he had a lasting impact on British photographic culture, ensuring that photography was formally recognised as an independent medium. He commissioned exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery, London, and for national touring.
Barry’s heart lay in supporting photographers directly, offering many their first chance of publication. He purchased more than 2,000 photographs for the Arts Council’s collection, and established and edited British Image, a series of Arts Council publications on contemporary photography.
In 1995 he joined the Royal Photographic Society as secretary general at a challenging time. The society was struggling financially, and he attempted to implement a feasibility study which suggested moving premises and finding a partner to ensure greater access to the collection. The officers of the society differed, and sold the collection to the National Media Museum. Barry left the RPS in 2002.
He then resumed his boyhood passion for archaeology and landscape history, becoming involved in developing and supporting much regional and local activity, mixing practical exploration with academic research. He held important roles at county and regional level, including honorary curator of the Wells and Mendip Museum, in Somerset, revitalising it and ensuring its future.
He followed his own research interests, publishing various articles. At his death he was writing about church dedications to St Lawrence across Somerset. He bought a Victorian cider press, which features largely in village cider-making and wassailing traditions. He kept bees, helped local people do serious archaeology, led walks explaining local landscape history and collaborated with English Heritage on a 2016 book on Mendip.
An enabler, kind and thoughtful, he had an incisive mind and ever-questioning spirit. Generous, lacking vanity, unimpressed by status, he gave his time with enthusiasm and a desire to do and learn.
He is survived by me, his daughters, Thalia and Helena, from his first marriage to Judith, his stepdaughter, Imogen, and four grandchildren.
