Marjorie Pigott

{{Short description|Japanese-Canadian artist (1904–1990)}}

{{Infobox artist

| name = Marjorie Pigott

| image = Lyrical Fantasy, Marjorie Pigott.jpeg

| caption = Lyrical Fantasy, 1973, watercolour on wove paper

| birth_date = January 6, 1904

| birth_place = Yokohama, Japan

| death_date = January 12, 1990

| death_place = Toronto, Canada

| style = Watercolour

}}

Marjorie Pigott {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|RCA|size=100%}} (January 6, 1904, in Yokohama, Japan – January 12, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=4326|title=Marjorie Pigott|website=www.gallery.ca|language=en-ca|access-date=2017-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315174205/https://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=4326|archive-date=2017-03-15|url-status=live}}) was a Japanese Canadian artist, who adapted Japanese watercolour 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.{{Cite news|title=OBITUARY Marjorie Pigott Painter showed Japanese roots|date=January 13, 1990|work=The Globe and Mail}} 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.{{Cite book|title=A Dictionary of Canadian Artists|last=MacDonald|first=Colin|publisher=Canadian Paperbacks Publishing|year=1982|location=Ottawa, Canada}}

After 12 years of study, Pigott was designated a Nanga master herself. With World War II 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.{{Cite web|url=http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=61|title=Canadian Women Artists History Initiative : Artist Database : Artists : PIGOTT, Marjorie|website=cwahi.concordia.ca|language=en|access-date=2017-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312063915/http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=61|archive-date=2017-03-12|url-status=live}}

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{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artwork.php?mkey=14550|title=Lyrical Fantasy. Marjorie Pigott 1973|website=www.gallery.ca|language=en-ca|access-date=2017-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315090844/https://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artwork.php?mkey=14550|archive-date=2017-03-15|url-status=live}} among others. She was a member of and exhibited her work with the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour{{Cite web|url=http://198.96.117.138/index.php/past-members/|title=Past Members {{!}} CSPWC/SCPA|website=198.96.117.138|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531090306/http://198.96.117.138/index.php/past-members/|archive-date=2017-05-31|url-status=live}} and the Ontario Society of Artists. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts{{Cite web|url=http://rca-arc.ca/who-we-are/members/members-since-1880/|title=list of members « Royal Canadian Academy of Arts|website=rca-arc.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323165616/http://rca-arc.ca/who-we-are/members/members-since-1880/|archive-date=2019-03-23|url-status=dead}} in 1973.