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MACLEOD, Pegi Nicol

Born
Listowel, Ontario, 1904
Died
New York, United States, 1949
Biography synopsis
Margaret Kathleen "Pegi" Nicol MacLeod was born in Listowel, Ontario in 1904 and studied painting at the Ottawa Art Association under Franklin Brownell. From 1923 to 1924 MacLeod continued her studies at the École de Beaux-Arts in Montreal. During this time she won five medals for her exceptional work. Her first paintings were mainly portraits and landscapes. In 1931 she won the Willingdon prize for the landscape “The Long Run.” The same year she held a solo exhibition at the Lysle Courtenay Studios on Sparks Street, which included mostly landscapes and some portraits. In 1932 she held her first solo show at Montreal at Eaton’s. In 1936 she became member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour and one year after she joined the Canadian Group of Painters. In 1937 she married Norman MacLeod and the couple settled in New York. The city rush and events represented new subject material that she transformed into color and movement. “The Manhattan Cycle” was an important series that she produced during this time. MacLeod’s work was exhibited in several major shows in Canada and abroad, including "Artists of the British Empire Overseas"; Royal Institute Galleries, London, England; Canadian Water Colours, Gloucester, England (1939); Pintura Canadense Contemporanea, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (1944); Canadian War Art (1945), among many others. Pegi Nicol MacLeod and Lucy Jarvis established the Observatory Art Centre in 1942, which later was attached to Fredericton’s University of New Brunswick. From 1940 to 1948, MacLeod conducted classes at the summer school of the University. In the last years of World War II she was commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada to paint the women’s division of the Canadian Armed forces. Her works are part of important private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Beaverbrook Gallery, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, among others.
Media used
Painting
Watercolour
Education
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, 1923 - 1924 (under Marian Scott & Lilian Freiman)
Memberships
Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, 1936
Canadian Group of Painters, 1937
File & Archive locations
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
Université du Québec à Montréal
University of Waterloo Library, ON
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Lisgar Collegiate Institute, ON
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, NY
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, QC
Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, NY
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
London Public Library, ON
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
University of Calgary Library, AB
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
University of New Brunswick - Archives and Special Collections Department
Canadian Museum of Civilization Archives, QC
University of Guelph, ON - Archival & Special Collections
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
" ... Group Shows at Art Association." Gazette (Montreal) 5 Jan. 1946
"'Pigeons' and 'School in a Garden' - Pegi Nicol." Northern Review 3.3 (Feb.-Mar. 1950): 28-9
"59 Paintings Auctioned for Refugees' Benefit Bring Total of $2459." Ottawa Citizen 4 Oct. 1940
"Anciens élèves des beaux-arts réunis en une association." La Patrie (Montreal) 13 May 1929
"Art Exhibit Discussed: Private Showing Given Members of Windsor Association." Windsor Star 1 Dec. 1942
"At the Galleries: Manhattan Cycle Scenes Fascinate After Study." Telegram (Toronto) 19 Apr. 1947
"Brillante fête artistique à l'école des beaux-arts." Le Canada (Montreal) 24 May 1924: 10
"Exhibit Paintings of Pegi Nichol." Ottawa Citizen 24 Jul. 1931
"Exhibition of Art by Canadian Women." Canadian Art 4.2 (Feb-Mar. 1947): 80
"Exhibition of the Canadian Group of Painters." Canadian Art (Jan-Feb. 1948): 142
"For the third time the Produced in Canada Exhibition ..." Montrealer 1 Nov. 1937
"Governor-General Arts Competition Results Announced." Montreal Star 4 May 1929
"La Galérie Eaton: L'exposition des artistes de la province de Québec." La Patrie (Montreal) 21 Oct. 1927: 14
"Learning to Understand Pictures." Ottawa Morning Journal 16 Jan. 1926
"Literature & Art." Ottawa Outlook 18 Jan. 1934
"Miss Peggy Nicoll, Artist, Sherbrooke Street, Montreal." Herald (Montreal) ? Apr. 1932
"Murals Offer Opportunity To Record Canada at War." Ottawa Evening Journal 12 Aug. 1940
"New Work of Art in Vocational School." Carleton Sentinel 22 Jan. 1942
"Notable Pictures by Ottawa Artist: Pegi Nichol Works Brightness and Pattern Into 'Amateur Hockey'." Ottawa Morning Journal 3 Mar. 1934
"Oil Paintings Now on Display Here." Times-Globe (Saint John) 2 Nov. 1943
"Open Exhibition at Arts School." Gazette (Montreal) 24 May 1924
"Pegi Nichol." Ottawa Citizen 17 Mar. 1933
"Pegi Nicol's Landscapes And Portraits." Star (Montreal) 17 Feb. 1932
"Pegi Nicol." Canadian Forum 15.179 ( Dec. 1935): 390
"R.C.A. Impressions." Ottawa Citizen 4 May 1929
"School of Fine Arts is Opened: Provincial Sec'y, French Consul-General and Others Give Awards." Montreal Daily Star 24 May 1924
"The Passionate Snow of Yesteryear." Canadian Forum 16.183 (Apr. 1936): 21
"Une association d'anciens des beaux-arts." Le Canada (Montreal) 13 May 1929: 130
"Vivacious Artist." Toronto Saturday Night (9 Feb. 1935)
"With Trilliums in Her Hair." Canadian Art 4.4 (Summer 1947): 147-8
"Women's Works on Exhibit." Standard (Montreal) 2 Apr. 1949
Abell, Walter ed. "Fredericton Art Club." Maritime Art (Oct. 1940): 27
Anderson, Janice. Creating Room: Canadian Women Mural Painters and Rereadings of the Public and the Private Montreal: Concordia University, 2002
Art Gallery of Toronto. Fifty Years of Painting in Canada Toronto: Art Gallery of Toronto, 1949
Art Gallery of Toronto. Mabel Lockerby, Pegi Nicol Macleod, Kathleen Morris, Marian Scott Toronto: Art Gallery of Toronto, 1941
Asselin, Hedwidge, ed. Indédits de John Lyman Montreal: Ministère des Affaires culturelles, Biblio. nationale Québec, 1980
Ayre, Robert. "The Canadian Group of Painters." Canadian Art 6.3 (Spring 1949): 98-102
Ayre, Robert. "Toronto Honors memory of Artist; Exhibition of Thomson Paintings Includes Loans of Principal Work." Standard (Montreal) 1941
Barbeau, M. Marius. "La Délivrance des Loups-Garous." La Presse 4 Mar. 1933
Barbeau, M. Marius. "Légende Française du Laurent." La Presse (Montreal) 7 Jan. 1933
Boutilier, Alicia & Tobi Bruce. The Artist Herself : Self-portraits by Canadian Historical Women Artists / L'artiste elle-meme : autoportraits de femmes artistes au Canada Kingston, ON: Agnes Etherinton Art Centre. Hamilton: Art Gallery Hamilton, 2015
Boutilier, Alicia Anna, et al. Inspirational : The Collection of H.S. Southam Hamilton, Ontario: Art Gallery of Hamilton, 2009
Brandon, Laura. Exploring the undertheme: the self-portraits of Pegi Nicol MacLeod, 1904-1949 Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1993
Brandon, Laura. Pegi By Herself: the life of Pegi Nicol MacLeod, Canadian artist Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005
Buchanan, Donald. (Essay reprinted from Canadian Art 6, Summer 1949:158-162) Pegy Nicol MacLeod: Memorial Exhibition Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1949
Buchanan, Donald W. "Pegi Nicol MacLeod 1904-1949." Canadian Art 6.4 (Summer 1949): 158-162
Buchanan, Donald W. "Pegi Nicol MacLeod 1904-1949: By Donal W. Buchanan in Canadian Art." Ottawa Citizen 18 Jul. 1949
Canadian Group of Painters. Canadian Group of Painters, Exhibition 1942 Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1942
Canadian Group of Painters. Canadian Group of Painters, Exhibition 1960 Montreal: 1960
Canadian Group of Painters. Canadian Group of Painters, Exhibition 1961 Vancouver: 1961
Canadian War Museum. Paragraphs in Paint: The Second World War Art of Pegi Nicol MacLeod Ottawa: Canadian War Museum, 1998
Carleton University Art Gallery. Pegi Nicol MacLeod: A Life in Art Ottawa: Carleton University Art Gallery, 1999
Caughlin, Grace A. "Woodstock's Reaction to Murals." Maritime Art 2.2 (Dec. 1941)
Conde, Valérie. "Women at War." Daily Star (Windsor) 24 Feb. 1945
Doyon, Charles. "La peinture feminine." Le Clairon (Sainte-Hyacinthe) ?
E. G. "Canadian Group Exhibit is Open." Standard (Montreal) 8 Jan. 1944
Forster. Michael. "Mary Filer, Pegi Nicol Exhibitions Planned." Standard (Montreal) 16 Sept. 1950
Gessell, Paul. "The Remarkable Life of a Bohemian Ottawa Artist." Citizen's Weekly (6 Feb. 2005)
Gillis, Raina-Clair. "Artistic Impressions of War." Canadian Military Journal 6.3 (Autumn 2005): 75-80
Harper, J. Russell. "Pegi Nicol MacLeod: A Maritime Artist." Dalhousie Review 43.1 (Spring 1963)
Hicklin, R. C. "Pegi Nicol MacLeod - Painter." Hilltop 1.1 (Apr. 1948)
Hill, Charles. Canadian Painting in the Thirties Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1975
Hudson, Anna. Art and social progress: the Toronto community of painters,1933-1950 Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1997
Huot, Maurice. "Peintres féminins." La Patrie (Montreal) 6 Apr. 1949: 16
Karlinsky, Amy. "Pegi Nicol MacLeod." Border Crossings 24.3 (Aug. 2005): 93
Luckyj, Natalie. Visions and Victories: 10 Canadian Women Artists 1914-1945 London: London Regional Art Gallery, 1983
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
Macleod, Pegi Nicol. [Woodcut by Pegi Nichol] Canadian Geographical Journal 7 (Dec. 1933): 260
Mawr, David. "Canadian Group of Painters Exhibit Opens." Windsor Daily Star 14 May 1949
McInnes, G. Campbell. "Contemporary Canadian Artists, No. 8 -- Pegi Nicol." Canadian Forum 17.200 (Sept. 1937): 202
McInnes, G. Campbell. "World of Art." Toronto Saturday Night (14 Dec. 1935)
McInnes, G. Campbell. “World of Art.” Saturday Night (18 Jan. 1936): 4
McInnes, Graham. "Art and Artists: Two Local Boys Made Good." Toronto Saturday Night (11 Jan. 1941)
McInnes, Graham. "Artist of the Wayward Brush." Ottawa Citizen 14 Feb. 1949
McInnes, Graham. "Canadian Group of Painters." Canadian Art 3.2 (Jan-Feb. 1946): 76
McLeod, Ellen. "Who Was Pegi Nicol MacLeod? Glebe resident Laura Brandon launches biography and art exhibition a Carleton University Art Gallery." Glebe Report (Ottawa) 1 Feb. 2005
Milroy, Sarah, ed. Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Movement Vancouver: Figure 1, 2021
Murray, Joan. Daffodils in Winter: The Life and Letters of Pegi Nicol MacLeod, 1904-1949 Moonbeam, Ontario: Penumbra Press, 1984
Museu nacional de belas artes. Pintura Canadense Contemporarnea Rio De Janeiro: Museu nacional de belas artes, 1944
National Council of Women of Canada. Canadian Women Artists' Exhibition, Sponsored by Local Council of Women of Kitchener Kitchener: Canadian Arts Council and Department of External Affairs, 1947
National Council of Women of Canada. Canadian Women Artists, Sponsored by National Council of Women of Canada and National Council of Women of the U.S New York: Riverside Museum, 1947
National Council of Women of Canada. Femmes peintres canadiennes: Expositions présentée par le conseil national des femmes canadiennes 1947
National Gallery of Canada. Memorial exhibition, Pegi Nicol MacLeod, 1904-1949 Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1949
Niergarth, Kirk. ""What Would He Have Us Do?" Gender and the "Profession" of Artist in New Brunswick in the 1930s and 1940s." Rethinking Professionalism. Ed. Kristina Huneault and Janice Anderson Montreal, QC: McGill-Queens Press, 2012
Normand, Renée. "Les Arts: A la West End Art Gallery se tient présentement une exposition de femmes peintres canadiens." Le Canada (Montreal) 19 Apr. 1949
Ostroff, Michael [director]. Pegi Nicol: something dancing about her [videorecording] Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 2005
Pfeiffer, Dorothy. "Pegi Nichol MacLeod." Gazette (Montreal) 7 Mar. 1964
R. B. F. "Keenly Admire Display of Art." Ottawa Journal 17 Mar. 1933
Reichwein, P. and K. Wall. Uplift: Visual Culture at the Banff School of Fine Arts Banff: Banff School of Fine Arts, 2020
Royal Gallery. Pegi Nicol MacLeod, 1904-1949: Retrospective Exhibition Montreal: Royal Gallery, 1964
Smith, Stuart Allen. Pegi Nicol MacLeod Fredericton, New Brunswick: Gallery 78, 1981
Trepanier, Esther and Landry, Pierre. Femmes artistes du XXe siecle au Quebec: Oeuvres du Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec Quebec, Quebec: Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec, 2010.
University of New Brunswick Art Centre. Pegi Nicol MacLeod Exhibition Fredericton: University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 1962
University of New Brunswick Art Centre. Pegi Nicol Month Fredericton: University of New Brunswick Art Centre, 1981

Writings by
MacLeod, Pegi Nichol (Nicol). "Adventure in Murals." Maritime Art 2.2 (Dec. 1941)
MacLeod, Pegi Nichol (Nicol). [Illustrations: Decorations by Pegi Nichol Macleod] Canadian Nation 2.2 (May-Jun. 1929): 3,5,18
MacLeod, Pegi Nichol (Nicol). [Illustrations: Decorations by Pegi Nichol] Canadian Nation 2.1 (Mar-Apr. 1929): 3,15
MacLeod, Pegi Nichol (Nicol). [Illustrations: Decorations by Pegi Nichol] Canadian Nation 1.2 (Apr. 1928)
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Five O'Clock [Illustration]." Canadian Forum 16.189 (Oct. 1936): 17
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Fredericton." Canadian Art 1.1 (Oct. 1943): 35
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Merry Christmas." Canadian Forum 16.191 (Dec. 1936): 13
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Recording the Women's Services." Canadian Art 2.2 (Dec. 1949): 48-51
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Rouault. By Edward Alden Jewell. New York: Hyperion Press [Review]." Canadian Art 10.2 (Feb-Mar. 1947): 83
MacLeod, Pegi Nicol. "Where Forgotten Gods Sleep." Canadian National 17.1 (Mar. 1931): 25

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