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. In 1933 she became the first woman instructor at the

Provincial Institute of Technology and Art Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA) was the predecessor institution of both the Alberta University of the Arts and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. In 1933, Marion Nicoll Marion Florence Nicoll (née MacKay; 11 April 190 ...

. In 1977 Nicoll became the first woman artist in the Prairies to become a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

Biography

Nicoll was born in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. She was the daughter of immigrants Robert Mackay, of Scottish descent, and Florence Gingras, of Irish and French heritage. When she was in high school, Nicoll began painting at St. Joseph's Convent in

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, taking classes between 1925-26. She then studied formally at the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(1927–29), where she was taught by portraitist John Alfsen and

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

landscape artists

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

, Frank Johnston, and

J.E.H. MacDonald James Edward Hervey MacDonald (1873–1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism in Europe in the ear ...

. Marion undertook further training at the

in Calgary (1929–32),

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(1937–38), Emma Lake Seminar in Regina (1957), and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

(1957–59). Nicoll went on to teach at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

, and the

Banff School of Fine Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

. Nicoll started her painting career depicting Alberta landscapes. In the summer of 1946, while working at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Nicoll met

Jock Macdonald James Williamson Galloway Macdonald (31 May 1897 – 3 December 1960), commonly known in his professional life as Jock Macdonald, was a member of Painters Eleven (Painters 11, or P11), whose goal was to promote abstract art in Canada. Macdo ...

, a fellow faculty member. He introduced her to automatism, a practice associated with the European Surrealists, and it marked a pivotal moment in her practice. Becoming the sole artist in Alberta to work in automatism, Nicoll frequently produced paintings and drawings without premeditation for the next six years, accumulating four-foot-high stacks of sketchbooks. Her work then evolved into abstraction in the 1950s, in particular after her visit to the Emma Lake Artist's Workshop conducted by

Will Barnet Will Barnet (May 25, 1911November 13, 2012) was an American artist known for his paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints depicting the human figure and animals, both in casual scenes of daily life and in transcendent dreamlike worlds. Biogr ...

in 1957. According to Christopher Jackson, from that point on, Nicoll completely abandoned naturalism. Nicoll worked in a diverse range of media, including print-making, ceramics, batiks, jewelry making, and, above all, painting. Nicoll lived in the Bowness neighbourhood in Calgary with her husband Jim Nicoll, an engineer and amateur artist originally from

Fort Macleod Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then Commis ...

, whom she met in 1933 and married in 1940. Many of her paintings are held by the

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was established as a private non-profi ...

in Calgary. A Gallery at the Alberta College of Art and Design is named after her."Nicoll, Marion." In ''Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Online''. http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=75 Nicoll had to abandon painting in 1971 due to arthritis, but continued to make art by using a more physically manageable, though unconventional technique she called clayprinting.

References

External links

Marion and Jim Nicoll fonds
at Glenbow
images of Marion Florence Nicoll's paintings
at askART
Marion Nicoll: Life and Work
by Catharine Mastin at Art Canada Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicoli, Marion 1909 births 1985 deaths Abstract painters Canadian painters Canadian women painters Artists from Calgary 20th-century Canadian women artists Canadian abstract artists