Biographies

Marguerite Thompson Zorach (1887 – 1968) Photo, above, is of Marguerite and William. “… I just couldn’t understand why such a nice girl would paint such wild pictures.” William Zorach… Upon first meeting Marguerite Thompson in a morning class at La Palette She was born in Santa Rosa, California, and came to Paris in 1908, invited by her aunt. There she saw the fauve and early cubist work at the Salon d’Automne. She studied at the Grande Chaumière and the Beaux-Arts but also met and Gertrude Stein. In her last year in Paris she transferred to la Palette and studied with . She returned to America in 1912 and married William Zorach, a painter and sculptor. They both submitted works to the jury for the New York Armory show, which was considering the work of uninvited artists, and both had work accepted. They spent some time in Provincetown, where William did a memorable sketch of Edna Millay, and Marguerite made a strong woodblock of the Provincetown Players. Unfortunately, family life and raising children put her into the shadows in later years, when she mainly did fiber art work and helped her husband with designs for his sculptures, though which he became prominent. She contined to paint well, but only occasionally. They were both talented, and their daughter Dahlov has gained a reputation as an artist as well. Picasso J. D. Fergusson