Artist Info
Margaret Pilkington
Margaret Pilkington was born in Clifton, near Manchester. Her family were owners of the Pilkington Tile Company. She studied at the Slade (1913) and at the Central School (1914) under Noel Rooke, having received her first lesson in wood engraving from Lucien Pissarro, she became a friend of the Pissarro family. She joined Rooke's class in 1914 and was very influenced by his teaching. Three of her prints were included in Malcolm Salamons's Studio publication "Modern Woodcuts and Lithographs" (1919) and another in Campbell Dodgson's "Contemporary English Woodcuts" (1922). Almost all her book illustrations are for her father, Lawrence Pilkington's or his friends' works on mountaineering. She exhibited with the newly founded Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) in 1920 at the Chenil Gallery, and became a member the following year, honorary secretary in 1924 and chairman in 1952. She was also a founder of the Red Rose Guild of Craftsmen in Manchester, governor and later honorary director of the Whitworth Art Gallery (1935-59). A keen collector of wood engravings, drawings and paintings, she donated her collection to the Whitworth. She was awarded the OBE (1954).
Author: JS
