Marion Sleeman Sanford (1904-1987)
Born in 1904 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and raised in Warren, Pennsylvania, Marion Sanford studied painting at the Pratt Institute in New York, and worked for a period of time as a stage and costume designer. She developed an interest in sculpture, and studied the direct-carving method briefly at the Art Students League, but was largely self-taught. In 1937 she had her first exhibition of sculptures depicting women performing household chores and everyday tasks. She later created a series called "Women at Work" and her imagery of women would be the subject for which she would become best known, although she also completed bronze portraits and bas-reliefs. In 1941 and 1943 she worked as a Guggenheim Fellow, and became a member of the National Academy of Design, National Sculpture Society, and the National Association of Women Artists. Sanford won many awards and medals for her works and also created sculptures on commission, including a carved altar panel for the First Methodist Church in Warren, Pennsylvania. Marion shared a studio with fellow sculptor Cornelia Chapin (bio below.) They lived together in northwestern Connecticut until Chapin's death in 1972. Marion moved to Eastbourne, England until her death in 1987.
