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ZWICKER, Mary Marguerite Porter

Born
Pleasant Valley, Nova Scotia, 1904
Died
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1993
Biography synopsis
Known for her scenes of Nova Scotia villages and landscapes rendered in watercolours, Marguerite Zwicker was an active promoter of art in and around Halifax. Her education took place at the Nova Scotia College of Art and in the United States under the German-American Abstract Expressionist painter, Hans Hofmann, whom she greatly admired. A teacher of painting at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Zwicker also conducted painting and cultural tours in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Her travels in these countries are expanded upon in her book, "On My Own," published in 1959. In 1957, she, along with fellow-artist and husband, Leroy, took over ownership of Zwicker's Gallery, at the time the only venue in Halifax that regularly featured art exhibitions open to the public. A member of the Nova Scotia Society of Artists, Zwicker exhibited with this association, as well as participating in several group shows at the Dalhousie Art Gallery, including an exhibit with her husband in 1958. A solo show followed many years later, in 1991, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Media used
Artists' illustrated books
Watercolour
Education
Nova Scotia College of Art
Private study (under Hans Hofmann)
Memberships
Nova Scotia Society of Artists
File & Archive locations
Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
London Public Library, ON
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"Arts Promoter Zwicker Dies." Daily News (Halifax) 25 Sep. 1993: 21
"Spring Exhibition of Art Association was Opened on Thursday." Toronto Star 12 Mar. 1933
"Spring Exhibition of the Art Association of Montreal." Toronto Star 22 Mar. 1933
"Watercolor Painting up for Raffle." Daily News (Halifax) 27 Feb. 1991: 2
Art Association of Montreal. Catalogue of the Fiftieth Annual Spring Exhibition, 1933. Montreal: Art Association of Montreal, 1933
Art Association of Montreal. Catalogue of the Fifty-Third Spring Exhibition. Montreal: Art Association of Montreal, 1936
Canadian Library Association. Canadian Biographies: Artists and Authors. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1951
Dalhousie Art Gallery. A Gentler Time: English and Canadian Watercolour Landscapes and Other Works on Paper from the Dorothy Ward Bequest. Halifax: 1998
Dalhousie Art Gallery. Back to the Land: Early 20th Century Landscapes in the Permanent Collection. Halifax: 2001
Dalhousie Art Gallery. Exhibition of Paintings, Watercolours by Marguerite Zwicker and Leroy Zwicker. Halifax: 1958
Halifax City Hall. Diamond Jubilee: Nova Scotia Society of Artists. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1997
Hashey, Mary W., ed. Maritime Artists Vol. 1. Fredericton: Maritime Art Association, 1967
Kelly, Gemey. Backgrounds: Ten Nova Scotia Women Artists. Halifax: Dalhousie Art Gallery, 1984
Koehler-Vanderfraaf, Marie. Marguerite Zwicker: Watercolours. Halifax: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1991
MacDonald, Colin S. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists. (Volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker) Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009.
Maritime Art Association. Paintings by Artists of the Maritime Provinces. Wolfville: Maritime Art Association, 1935
Maritime Art Association. Paintings by Artists of the Maritime Provinces. Halifax: Maritime Art Association, 1939-1940
Maritime Art Association. Paintings by Artists of the Maritimes: Seventh Annual Exhibition. Halifax: Maritime Art Association, 1942
McKendry, Blake. A to Z of Canadian Art: Artists and Art Terms. Kingston: B. McKendry, 1997
McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Formerly Art Association of Montreal: Spring Exhibitions, 1880-1970. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988
McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing. Royal Canadian Academy of Arts/Académie royale des arts du Canada: Exhibitions and Members 1880-1979 Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981
Paikowsky, Sandra. Nova Scotian Pictures: Art in Nova Scotia, 1940-1966. Halifax: Dalhousie University Art Gallery, 1994
Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Halifax: 1930
Robson, Scott. Nova Scotia Women Artists in the Collection of Tony Saulnier. Halifax: Dalhousie University Art Gallery, 1993
Senn, R. "Zwickers: Halifax Art's Royal Couple." Atlantic Insight 4 (Apr. 1982): 60-1
Soucy, Donald. "More Than a Polite Pursuit: Art College Education for Women in Nova Scotia 1887-1930s." Art Education 42.2 (Mar. 1989): 23-40
Tippett, Maria. By a Lady. Toronto: Viking, 1992

Writings by
Zwicker, Mary Marguerite Porter. On My Own. 1959

Full text pdfs of exhibition reviews
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition of Art Association Was Opened on Thursday."  Montreal Star  .  p.19.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "50th Spring Show Opened to Public. Jury Shows Open Mind. From Over 1,000 Entries, 543 Works Representative of Various Schools Have Been Selected."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.6.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition of the Art Association of Montreal"  Montreal Star  .  17.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) Yves Lemieux.  "Le 50e Salon du Printemps."  Le Devoir  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Art Association Spring Show Opens. Private View Inaugurates Exhibition Containing Over Five Hundred Works."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.17.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Fifty-First Spring Exhibition of the Art Association."  Montreal Star  .  p.15.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "The Fifty-Sixth Exhibition of the Canadian Academy."  Montreal Star  .  p.13.   Full-text pdf
Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition.: (Montreal, ) "Art Gallery Scene of R.C.A. Exhibition. Paintings and Other Works from Various Canadian Points Total 444. Much Good Portraiture."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.19.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Spring Exhibition on Generous Scale. Show at Art Gallery Opened Last Night Contains 621 Items."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.2.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Annual Spring Exhibition at Art Association."  Montreal Star  .  p.8.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "Nearly 500 Works at Spring Exhibit. Art Association's 54th Annual Show Opens with Private Views. Judges Open-Minded."  Gazette (Montreal)  .  p.13,17.   Full-text pdf
Art Association of Montreal Annual Spring Exhibition: (Montreal, ) "The Spring Exhibition of the Art Association."  Montreal Star  .  p.17.   Full-text pdf

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