Marjorie Pigott (January 6, 1904, in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

– January 12, 1990, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

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 with 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 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (, or ) was a major earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the mom ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

among others. She was a member of and exhibited her work with the

Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (), founded in 1925, is considered to be Canada's official national watercolour Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed Vice-regal Patronage from the incumbent Governor General of Canada. Re ...

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 ...

. 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 Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

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 The Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) is an art museum located in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The museum occupies a building on King Street (Hamilton, Ontario), King Street West in downtown Hamilton, designed by Trevor P. Garwood-Jon ...

*1964 – Spring Exhibition of

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

;

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

Arts Council

References

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