Marjorie Pigott (January 6, 1904, in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

– January 12, 1990, in

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada) was a Japanese Canadian artist, who adapted Japanese

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

techniques to paint Canadian scenes. Marjorie Pigott was born to an English father and a Japanese mother, who, recognizing Pigott's artistic talent, sent her to study under master artists at the Nanga School, founded in the 15th century. Her mother was of noble birth and their home was filled with ancient Japanese treasures, which were mostly destroyed during the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

. After 12 years of study, Pigott was designated a Nanga master herself. With

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

looming, Pigott left Japan together with her sister Edith, arriving in Vancouver in 1940 and settling in Toronto. From 1955 to 1965 she taught the Nanga technique to Japanese in Canada. She started painting Canadian scenes, such as the landscapes around Muskoka, using the Nanga technique and gradually developed her own style of semi-abstract wet-into-wet watercolour painting. Her work was exhibited in several solo exhibitions and group shows in Canada. Her work is represented in collections of the National Gallery of Canada among others. She was a member of and exhibited her work with the Canadian Sociery of Painters in Water Colour and the

Ontario Society of Artists The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...

. She was elected to 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 ...

in 1973.

Solo exhibitions

Her solo exhibitions include the following: *1962, 1964, 1966, 1968 – Roberts Gallery, Toronto *1969 – Kensington Fine Arts Gallery, Calgary *1970 – Roberts Gallery, Toronto *1971 – Wallack Gallery, Ottawa *1972 – Gallery Fore, Winnipeg; Kensington Fine Arts Gallery, Calgary; Roberts Gallery, Toronto *1973 – Wallack Gallery, Ottawa *1974 – Roberts Gallery, Toronto *1975 – Wallack Gallery, Ottawa

Group exhibitions

Her group exhibitions include the following: *1961 – 4th Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Art, Ottawa; Canadian National Exhibition Art Gallery, Toronto; London Regional Art Gallery *1962, 1963 – Annuals of the Art Gallery of Hamilton *1964 – Spring Exhibition of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; St. Catherines Arts Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pigott, Marjorie Canadian women artists 1904 births 1990 deaths Canadian watercolourists Japanese emigrants to Canada Artists from Yokohama Women watercolorists