Marion Nicoll

Marion Florence Nicoll (née MacKay; 11 April 1909 – 6 March 1985) was a Canadian painter. She is known as one of the first abstract painters in Alberta.[1] In 1933 she became the first woman instructor at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art.[2]

Marion Florence Nicol
Born
Marion Florence MacKay

(1909-04-11)April 11, 1909
Calgary, Alberta
DiedMarch 6, 1985(1985-03-06) (aged 75)
Calgary, Alberta
NationalityCanadian
EducationOntario College of Art, Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, Central School of Arts and Crafts
Known forPainting
MovementAbstract Art
Spouse(s)
Jim Nicoll
​
(m. after 1940)​

Biography

Nicoll was born in Calgary, Alberta. She began painting at St. Joseph's Convent in Red Deer, taking classes between 1925-26. Later, she studied formally at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto (1927–29), Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (1929–32), Central School of Arts and Crafts in London (1937–38), Emma Lake Seminar in Regina (1957), and the Art Students League of New York in New York City (1957–59). Nicoll went on to teach at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, the University of Alberta, and the Banff School of Fine Arts.[3]

Nicoll started her painting career depicting Alberta landscapes, then developed into using abstraction in the 1950s, in particular after her visit to the Emma Lake Artist's Workshop conducted by Will Barnet in 1957.[4] According to Christopher Jackson, from that point on, Marion completely abandoned naturalism.[5]

Nicoll lived in the Bowness neighbourhood in Calgary with her husband Jim Nicoll, an engineer and amateur artist originally from Fort Macleod, whom she met in 1933 and married in 1940. Many of her paintings are held by the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. A Gallery at the Alberta College of Art and Design is named after her.[6][7][3]

Nicoll had to abandon painting in 1971 due to arthritis, but continued to make art with using a more physically manageable, though unconventional technique she called clayprinting.[8]

References
  1. Sowa, Jennifer (20 May 2014). "Chronicling the career of influential artist and teacher Marion Nicoll". UToday. University of Calgary.
  2. "Marion Nicoll Gallery". Alberta College of Art + Design. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  3. "Nicoll, Marion." In Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Online. http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=75
  4. "Marion Nicoll - She Who Dares". YWCA Calgary. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. Jackson, Christopher (1986). Marion Nicoll: Art and Influences. Calgary: Glenbow Museum. p. 17.
  6. "Artist's Biography: Marion Nicoll." In Alberta's Art's Heritage Online. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Historic Art - Marion Nicoll RCA." In Masters Gallery Limited Online. http://www.mastersgalleryltd.com/artists/marion-nicoll-r-c-a
  8. Lavoilette, Mary-Beth (2012). Alberta Mistresses of the Modern 1935 - 1975. Edmonton, Alberta: Art Gallery of Alberta. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-88950-164-5.
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