Margaret Christian Grigor (March 2, 1912, Forres, Scotland – December 1, 1981, Steilacoom, Washington, US) was a prolific sculptor and medalist,
working in metal, wood, stone, plaster and plasteline.
Grigor was elected to the National Sculpture Society in 1963.
In 1969 she won the Lindsey Morris Prize for best bas-relief from the National Sculpture Society.
She was chosen for important commissions including the
Garvan Medal Garvan may refer to:
People
*Francis Patrick Garvan (1875–1937), American lawyer, president of the Chemical Foundation
*Genevieve Garvan Brady (1880–1938), American philanthropist and Papal duchess
* Garvan McCarthy (born 1981), retired Irish s ...
for women chemists, the Alaska and Hawaii Medal for the 71st issue of the
Society of Medalists The Society of Medalists was established in 1930 in the United States to encourage the medallic work of superior sculptors, and to make their creations available to the public. The Society of Medalists was the longest running art medal collector's ...
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
Bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
* French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
medal.
Life
Margaret Christian Grigor was born on March 2, 1912, in Forres, Scotland. Her father was William W. Grigor. Her parents were American and returned with her to the United States when she was a child.
Grigor studied at
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
, earning her B.A. in history of art in 1934. She then studied art with Walker Hancock and
Albert Laessle
Albert Laessle (March 28, 1877 – September 4, 1954) was an American sculptor and educator. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for more than twenty years and is best remembered as an animalier. He won the 1918 Widener Gol ...
Grigor was a sculptor in metal, wood and stone and a prolific medalist. Several of her medals have received particular attention. She exhibited at the Annual Exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Speaking of her work, she once stated, "I sculpt so that I can hold my head up high. People don't have to like what I do, but they recognize me as a sculptor. That is what I am."
Garvan-Olin Medal
In 1937, Grigor created the Garvan-Olin Medal for the American Chemical Society. That a woman sculptor was selected to create the medal was particularly fitting, since it is recognizes distinguished women in the field of chemistry.
The design features a torch of knowledge on one side, with the recipient's name, and a cauldron,
caduceus
The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...
, and industrial buildings on the obverse.
The resulting medal is considered one of her best and most original designs.
Alaska and Hawaii
Grigor's Medal for Alaska and Hawaii was chosen by the
Society of Medalists The Society of Medalists was established in 1930 in the United States to encourage the medallic work of superior sculptors, and to make their creations available to the public. The Society of Medalists was the longest running art medal collector's ...
for its 71st issue, in 1965. For this medal, Grigor chose to celebrate the addition of two new cultures to the United States. One side of the medal shows two
Eskimo
Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...
men ice-fishing and cutting blocks of ice, while the other side shows two
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
women working, grinding poi and mending a woven mat.
909 copies were struck.
75th Anniversary Medal, National Sculpture Society
Grigor was selected to create the reverse of the 75th Anniversary Medal of the National Sculpture Society (NSS) in 1968. The front was created by
Grigor competed in a national contest, conducted by the Treasury Department and judged by the National Sculpture Society for the United States Bicentennial. After being selected, Grigor created an official
Bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
* French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
* 1972, Alumnae Association award, Mount Holyoke College
* 1969, Lindsey Morris Prize, National Sculpture Society
* 1963, elected member, National Sculpture Society
* 1939, Stimson Prize
* 1937,
Cresson Traveling Scholarship The Cresson Traveling Scholarship, also known as the William Emlen Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, is a two-year scholarship for foreign travel and/or study awarded annually to art students at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in P ...