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Mikhail and Maria Horbal who had come from Austria in 1905 and moved to the Fraser Valley, BC prior to migrating
out to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. They were the parents of Marion's mother Anastasia and Mikhail retired from the Austrian
Cavalry to become a farmer in his newly adopted land; Canada. However, business required him to make frequent visits back
to Austria which had by this time now become Russia.
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| Marion's Father, Uncle and Paternal Grandmother |
Marion's Father - Bobby Finnigan (on the left), Uncle Thomas (on the right) and Grandmother Margaret Finnigan
in 1919.
Marion's Father - Bobby Finnigan had been born in Ireland and then moved to Canada circa 1925, paying his way
over by playing the piano night and day on the ship! He had desperately wanted to enter the War as a pilot but was completely
deaf in one ear and therefore prevented from doing so. However, his genius for mechanics had him at MacDonald Airport
building and repairing Harvards during the war prior to re-training as a psychiatric nurse and working for the rest of his
life in Manitoba.
An image that haunted Marion from her earliest childhood, circa 1945 - Portage La Prairie. The image lodged itself
in Marion's memory and conjures up sculptural echoes with its ice and snow. However, the tall edifice was to further trigger
sculptural images when the artist later visited Venice. She recalls that 'it wasn't until a later holiday in Venice that such
disturbing recollections from childhood took on a visceral quality'.
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| 3 Stages Of Consciousness |
Photo of a sculpture circa 1992 - '3 Stages Of Consciousness'. 48" x 40" x 40" - The wood frame supports screaming
figures constructed from clay, straw and sand. The work calls to mind Marion's painting 'Equilibrium' and represents the pain
inherent within the process of sentience and its pre-requisite, transformative conclusions. Does spirituality aid and comfort
such growth or perhaps facilitate it?
Marion graduated from the St. Boniface School of Nursing, Winnipeg in 1958 - one year before moving to England
and marrying Dr. Ernst Friedrich Blumberg (son of the famous German Doctor Jacob Moritz Blumberg - inventor of the Blumberg
Sign). She not only married Ernst but also worked for him in his Practice in London and painted when time permitted.
She further modelled for other artists on the vibrant Chelsea scene of the early 1960's London.
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| Marion painting circa 1960 - London, England |
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| Marion painting Maria Ferdensi - 1960 |
Both paintings show Marion painting in 1960. The second one shows her painting a portrait of friend Maria Ferdensi
who was a patient of her husband. In between painting and nursing Marion also found time to model for illustrious artists
such as Arthur Pan and H.A. Freeth amongst others. With her first husband she encountered Pablo Picasso in France.
| Marion and her First Husband - On Holiday 1961 |
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Marion not only nursed in Dr. Blumberg's Clinics at 137 Harley Street and in Chelsea, London but married and
travelled with him. They Honeymooned on the Island of Capri in Italy and travelled to Spain to enjoy the Gaudi architecture
in Barcelona.
Marion's best friend of fifty years; the magician and entertainer Claudine Chandler. Claudine was the assistant
to her famous Magician, Ventriloquist and President of The Magic Circle father (Claude Chandler) before becoming a name in
her own right. Claudine still performs and lectures for The Magic Circle to this day!
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| Canadian Concert Pianist Jane Coop |
Concert Pianist Jane Coop who worked with Marion on the 'Music In The Mountains' Masterclass series. Marion and
Jane had the music finalists in the mountain retreat center listen to music, then paint spontaneously and then improvise on
the piano works based upon their own pictorial representations. It was one of the great joys in Marion's career so far as
she got to bring music to life! Music manuscript features within Marion's work and she is an accomplished pianist herself.
Ted Maiman, inventor of the Laser, and his beautiful wife Kathleen at an exhibition with Marion. Ted passed away
recently but the couple have always remained within Marion's closest circle of friends and collected her work for many years.
Ted is sadly missed.
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| 'Firebird' - On display in the Romanov Gallery |
Marion's painting of the 'Firebird' centered between Chinese artist Xue's work in the Romanov Gallery, Vancouver
in 1998.
A family holiday photo from Vienna in 1985 where Marion attended 'The Magic Flute' at the Statsoper and enjoyed
hot chocolate and Sacher Tort in the Hotel Europa!
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| Chiara smelling the posies! |
Marion's granddaughter Chiara smelling her favourite posies on the terrace in Rome, 2002.
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| Papal Gardens - Vatican City, 2005 |
Marion with Father Stefano Canuto, Ruan, Samantha and Chiara in the Papal Gardens, Vatican City - 2005. Chiara
ran around chasing the exotic birds!
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| Christmas Card from Graham Harrop - 2007 |
"BackBench" has appeared daily for almost twenty years in the Globe and Mail, both as a comic strip
and a panel cartoon...'the BACKBENCH collection' by Graham Harrop is now available at your favourite bookstore! Graham has
been a friend for many years and Marion concurs completely with Dan Murphy, editorial cartoonist for the Vancouver Province
when he writes that "Graham Harrop has what most cartoonists dream of - an unfettered imagination, a sublime silliness
and as graceful way with words as with pen and brush."
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