K.M. Graham

Kathleen Margaret Graham (1913–2008) was a Canadian abstract impressionist artist known for depicting colors and patterns she found in nature.[1] She is known for becoming a painter at the age of 50, after her husband's death in 1962.[2]

Kathleen Margaret Graham
Born1913 (1913)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Died(2008-08-26)August 26, 2008
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Alma materTrinity College, Toronto
StyleAbstract impressionism

Early life and education

Graham was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1913.[1]

She graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto with a degree in home economics in 1936.[2] She never received a formal education or training in art.[2]

Art career

Graham was a museum docent at the Art Gallery of Toronto, where she became familiar with works by Piet Mondrian and American color field painters.[1] During travels with her husband, she visited art galleries and museums, developing her love of art.[2]

In 1967, Graham had her first solo art exhibition in Toronto.[2] In 1971, after visiting Cape Dorset in the Canadian Arctic, she shifted her focus to depicting the region's landscape.[1] In 1976, she became an artist in residence in Cape Dorset, going on to introduce acrylic paints to Inuit artists.[2]

Recognition

Graham's paintings are part of the permanent collections at the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and the British Museum.[2] Graham was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and exhibited alongside her peers.[1] She showed her work across North America and Europe.[2]

Personal life

After her marriage to Wallace Graham, in 1938, Graham spent the next several years raising their two children.[2] Having always been inspired by nature, Graham continued canoeing, swimming, writing, and painting until she was 92.[2]

Graham died on August 26, 2008, in Toronto, at the age of 94 and suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[2]

References
  1. "Canadian Women Artists History Initiative : Artist Database : Artists : GRAHAM, K. M. (Kathleen Margaret)". cwahi.concordia.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  2. Shanahan, Noreen (September 16, 2008). "Celebrated painter of landscapes took up her brush and palette at 50". Globe and Mail. ProQuest 382689510.
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