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Marion is the only child of a Russian mother and Irish father. Her parents came to Canada in 1925, with so many
others, because of problems in their native lands.They settled in central Canada, the Prairie heartland, and began their lives
afresh.
| Dr. Ernst Friedrich and Marion Blumberg - 1961 |
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She grew up speaking Russian and English and naturally absorbed the North American multi-cultural environment during her
childhood. Following school she qualified as a nurse, painting as time permitted. During the 1960's she moved to
London, England where she married a German descendant of Catherine the Great and later a British lawyer.
It was actually through her first husband that Marion came into contact with Pablo Picasso and spent a summer at Nimes
going to bull-fights. Through him also she became a model for the British painter H. Andrew Freeth, R.A. who had become reknowned
for his famous portraits of Somerset Maugham and Yeats as well as winning the prestigious Prix de Rome. Later, she was painted
by the Hungarian artist Arthur Pan who had achieved fame for his superlative portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. Through her
first husband, Ernst Blumberg, she met his uncle Hugo Perls of the Perls Galleries who was a very helpful influence.
After raising a family, she has two grown-up children, she completed a degree in art and then followed up with curatorial
work before finally being able to devote herself to full-time painting. Many of those who have collected her work find it
not only ironic that her life has always been intertwined with art over the last few decades, in different roles, but also
that much of her past experience as a model and her personal knowledge of several celebrated artists comes through within
her work.
As can be seen in the following galleries, she is very comfortable to re-work a diversity of styles and contexts,
occasionally with satirical references to the work of other artists fusing them into a uniquely symbolic yet immediate language
of her own with a multiplicity of referential coordinates for the viewer. Perhaps it is this quality that makes Marion
Harding so collectable. Her work can now also be viewed online at the SAATCHI Gallery and purchased through SAATCHI Saleroom
Online.
The Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Saleroom Online
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| Marion Blumberg (Harding) |
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| Arthur Pan 1962 |
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| Sir Winston Churchill |
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| Arthur Pan 1943 |
| Marion Blumberg (Harding) - Series of 5 |
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| H.A. Freeth - Royal Academician |
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Click on the link below to see a short video interview and allow a couple of minutes for it to load.
click here to play video interview
 
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| Two of Marion's paintings in the Maiman Collection |
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| Theodore Maiman invented the laser and lives in Vancouver |
Marion loves to travel and frequently visits her daughter in Ireland and her son and granddaughter in Rome, Italy.
Marion has a great many friends and colleagues within the artworld and can be seen here at a party discussing some new
poetry by actor Jack Palance.
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| Marion's son Ruan meeting with Pope John Paul II (1998) |
On April 11th 1998, during the Easter Vigil in St. Peters Basillica Vatican City, Rome, Marion's son Ruan was Baptized,
Confirmed and received First Eucharist in a triple ceremony with His Holiness Pope John Paul II. He then met with John Paul
II and later worked in the Vatican.
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