An Evolution of Form and Spirit
Margaret Tomkins was an American painter whose career spanned several decades and significant stylistic shifts. Born in Los Angeles, California, she was educated at the University of Southern California and the Chouinard Art Institute. Her early work included watercolor landscapes, such as those displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair. After relocating to Seattle, Washington, in 1939, her practice evolved from Regionalism toward Surrealist biomorphism. During the 1940s, her paintings, such as Anamorphosis, featured organic, visceral abstractions based on natural forms.
As her career progressed into the 1950s and 1960s, Tomkins became known for a pure Abstract Expressionist style. In this phase, she often utilized a limited palette of grays, whites, and earth tones, occasionally accented with red, blue, or yellow. Her canvases frequently explored themes of transformation and metamorphosis, with shapes that appeared to twist, intertwine, or obscure one another. In her later years, she developed a more geometric style characterized by pastel tones.
Artistic Activism and Legacy
Beyond her canvas, Tomkins was a significant figure in the Seattle art community. She was a driving force behind the Artists Gallery, the first artist-owned gallery in Seattle. Her work has been exhibited in numerous prestigious institutions, including:
In addition to her painting, she produced ceramic works and worked with egg tempera. Following the death of her husband, James FitzGerald, she saw the completion of the Waterfront Fountain, a large bronze piece located in Seattle's Waterfront Park. She continued to paint until shortly before her death in 2002.
