Camera Workers, 1858-1950


The British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950

First Name Last Name
Share Print Bookmark
Kean, Arthur David

Kean, Arthur David[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Male 1882 - 1961  (78 years)


Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Kean, Arthur David
    • VARIANT NAME: Kean, Cowboy.
    Nickname Cowboy Kean
    Birth 26 Feb 1882  Emerson, MB Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male
    Business Address/Year 1913-1927  Vancouver, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Death 1961  ON Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Association British Columbia Patriotic and Educational Picture Service (Relationship: Cinematographer)
    Association Lean, Captain Allan MacLean Cumming (Relationship: Undetermined)
    Association Queen Studio (Relationship: Undetermined)
    Person ID I1026  Camera Workers | K, vol. 2, 1901-1950
    Last Modified 9 Jan 2026

  • Photos
    Cinematographer at a Vancouver baseball game, 1915.    		Cinematographer at a Vancouver baseball game, 1915.
    Photographed by W.J. Moore, the motion picture operator is believed to be A.D. "Cowboy" Kean. The photograph is captioned "'Opening Game Base Ball Season 1915' 'Vancouver vs. Victoria'". City of Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-3-: PAN N14B.
    A.D. Kean, with camera, near Wainwright, AB, Oct 1925.    		A.D. Kean, with camera, near Wainwright, AB, Oct 1925.
    The Vancouver filmmaker and his assistant J.R. Nesbit, with tripod, pose with others while filming Policing the Plains at Buffalo National Park, near Wainwright, AB. Courtesy of BC Archives, Item G-08578.

  • Notes 
    • STATUS: Commercial; Cinematographer.
    • BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: In a 1921 visit to Nelson where he was filming on behalf of the BC Patriotic and Educational Picture Service, he claimed in a talk to the Nelson Board of Trade to have learned photography around 1903 as an amateur from Captain Allan Lean of the Queen Studio. A retired bronco buster, A.D. Kean last rode professionally in the 1912 Calgary Stampede on "Gray Silvers." He moved to Vancouver the next year where he quickly established a reputation as a filmmaker. He filmed such events as troop departures for the European front during the first world war, whaling activities on the high seas and at shore stations, and numerous short industrial and travel subjects for a provincial government agency to which he was contracted in the early 1920s. Much of his cinematic output, including an epic melodrama titled Policing the Plains (1924-1927), was lost over the years. His trademark logo was a cowboy roping a bull whose lariat spelled "Kean's Canada Films". Following the commercial failure of Policing the Plains, Kean parlayed his creative talents into radio and writing. He continued to photograph until his death.
    • IDENTIFYING MARKS: Print or postcard surface may be titled, dated and captioned "A D Kean Cowboy Photo" (source: real photo postcard, private collection).

  • Sources 
    1. [S46] COLLECTION: BVIPA.
      A.D. Kean fonds (PR-0755)

    2. [S152] COLLECTION: OOA.
      Films and videos

    3. [S339] Voters List, (Victoria, B.C.: Province of British Columbia, 1874-), 1916, 1920, 1924, Ref. NW 324.1 B862.
      Vancouver

    4. [S744] (Nelson) Daily News, 18 Jul 1921, 3.
      "Shoots Nelson for the Movies: Provincial Official Photographer Takes Films for Distribution Over Empire"

    5. [S222] Browne, Colin, Browne (1979), (Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1979).

    6. [S272] Dennis J. Duffy, Duffy (1986), (Victoria: Sound and Moving Image Division, Provincial Archives of British Columbia, 1986).

    7. [S273] Dennis J. Duffy and David Mattison, Duffy and Mattison (1989), (The Beaver 69, no. 1 (February/March 1989): 28-41).

    8. [S1235] Dennis Duffy, Duffy (2025), (British Columbia Review, October 15, 2025).