Chica Macnab Explained

Chica Macnab
Birth Name:Ada Jane Macnab
Birth Date:1889
Birth Place:Iloilo, Philippines
Nationality:British
Known For:Painting and printmaking
Spouse:James Munro (m.1927)

Ada Jane Macnab (1889–1980) known as Chica Macnab, and later as Ada Munro, was a Scottish artist notable as a wood-engraver and painter.

Biography

Macnab was born in the Philippines in the province of Iloilo where her Scottish parents were based while her father worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.[1] When the family returned to Scotland, Macnab was educated at Kilmacolm before studying at the Glasgow School of Art from 1922 to 1925.[2] She became a founding member of the Glasgow-based Society of Artist Printers and as soon as she graduated, the Glasgow School employed Macnab to establish and run a class on lithography and colour block printing.[3] [4] Macnab only taught the class for a year, during 1926 and 1927, but her students included Alison Mackenzie.[3] [5] She remained in Glasgow and joined the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists.[6] In 1927 Macnab married James Munro, a chemist, and after she started to raise a family appears to have put her artistic career on hold.[2] After 1967 she returned to painting and exhibited several oil paintings as Ada Munro.[2] [6] Her brother was also an artist, the painter and printmaker Iain Macnab.[1] [6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iain Macnab (Biographical details). 29 January 2019. British Museum.
  2. Book: Robin Garton. Garton & Co / Scolar Press. 1992. British Printmakers 1855-1955 A Century of Printmaking from the Etching Revival to St Ives . 0-85967-968-3.
  3. Web site: Chica Macnab. 29 January 2019. Glasgow School of Art Archives.
  4. Book: Peter J.M. McEwan. Antique Collectors' Club. 1994. The Dictionary of Scottish Art and Architecture. 1-85149-134-1.
  5. Book: Paul Harris & Julian Halsby. Canongate. 1990. The Dictionary of Scottish Painters 1600 to the Present. 1-84195-150-1.
  6. Book: David Buckman. Art Dictionaries Ltd. 2006. Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z . 0-953260-95-X.