Grant's outstanding reputation as a photojournalist (one of Canada's premier photojournalists) and commercial photographer spans a career begun in the mid-1950s working for the National Film Board of Canada. In his long career, he has visited several foreign countries, capturing in his photos a rich naturalness in a moment of time. He has been the personal photographer to many political figures including former Prime Minister Joe Clark (1979-80). He began taking photographs for the Progressive Conservative party in 1964. Grant has also shot a wide range of assignments documenting the activities of departments and agencies of the federal government and of private companies, sports subjects, a number of lifestyles and social phenomena in Canada and others aspects of both resource and secondary industries in all provinces and territories of Canada. Mr. Grant has covered most of the Olympic games since 1968, the Vietnam War (1965-1973), the Six Day War in the Middle East (1967), Pope John Paul II's visit to Canada (1984), and NATO military exercises in Norway. His work has been featured in Time, People, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and Canadian Geographic.
He worked also on feature stories for magazines such as National Geographic. Some of Grant's shots are well-known, especially the one of later disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson crossing the line during Seoul Olympic Games final 100 meter competition.
He was a life-long member of both Western Canadian News Photographers Association (WCNPA) and Eastern Canadian Photojournalists Association (ECNPA) and is still an active photographer. He has been involved in over twelve books including "Joe Clark, The Emerging Leader," "Residence: Homes of Canada's Leaders," "Men of the Saddle: Working Cowboys in Canada" and "Montreal -- A Guide to the City, Berlitz". He has lectured for over 33 years, and is mentor to many photojournalists in Canada and beyond. His photographs appear in books ranging from "Men of the Saddle" to "A Day in the Life of Canada". His many awards include both the Gold and Silver medals for photographic excellence from National film Board of Canada. In 1990, he was given an honorary medical degree by the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1999, Grant was the recipient of the CAPIC Lifetime Achievement Award.
His first published picture appeared in 1951 in the Ottawa Citizen. He continues to provide visuals for a wide variety of media. Originally a resident of Ottawa, Grant moved to Victoria in 1981 to slow the pace of his photo assignments, but he continues to pursue an active career.
He became interested in the medical world after his own surgery, and began documenting life in the medical profession. Grant's ten year photographic documentary dedicated to the world renowned teaching physician Sir William Osler illustrates the dedication of modern-day doctors and nurses. This project produced a major exhibition for the National Gallery of Canada's Museum of Contemporary Photography, and a stunning black and white book, "Doctor's Work, The Legacy of Sir William Olser".
In his later years, Grant lectured internationally for Kodak Canada and Leica Camera Inc. and had been the recent subject of a documentary film about his career. Grant has summarized his work as follows: "When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. When you photograph them in B&W, you photograph their souls".
The fonds also includes daily journals kept by Mr. Grant during his photojournalism assignments.
