Chronology
1928
Born January 11 to Irving and Frieda (née Gelband) Feitelson. Named Marcia Helene Feitelson
1932
Sister, Barbara Feitelson, born
Frieda and family live 1933–1985 in Inwood, Manhattan, NY, near the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, which Marcus visits regularly after its opening in 1938.
1938
Receives a camera from her father
1942
Enrolls in fashion illustration class at Traphagen School of Fashion, NY
1943
Enters Washington Square College, New York University
1947
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Washington Square College, New York University
Marries Harry Gutman
Attends Cooper Union (1947–1948)
1949
Marriage is annulled
1950–52
Attends Cooper Union, studies with John Ferren, Peter Busa, and Robert Gwathmey
1951
Moves to an apartment at 172 Third Avenue, NY
1952
First inclusion in group exhibition, Roko Gallery, Greenwich Village, NY
First trip to Provincetown, staying from June through November. Sparks a lasting connection with its vibrant artistic community, drawing her back repeatedly until the 1980s.
Frequents Cedar Bar and attends talks at The Club, NY.
Circle includes Earle and Lily Pilgrim, Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Marisol, Pat Passlof,
Emilio Cruz, Ibram Lassaw, LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka), Jill Johnston, and others
1953
Meets Marcel Duchamp at photography shoot, NY
Brief creative dialogue with Allan Kaprow involving assemblage, Provincetown, MA
Adopts Marcia Marcus as legal name
Inspired by exhibition; 50 Years of Mondrian at Sidney Janis Gallery, NY
1954
Attends Art Students League, “Life and Portrait Drawing, Painting and Composition” with
Edwin Dickinson, February and May
Studies with Jack Tworkov at the suggestion of Edwin Dickinson
1956
Paints portraits of Willem de Kooning, who offers technical advice
Fire in apartment building. Moves to an unconverted loft space at 703 East 6th Street, NY, where
she lives from 1956–1975. Neighbor is artist Lee Bontecou.
Father dies
1957
Becomes charter member of March Gallery, Tenth Street, NY where she has her first solo exhibition.
1958
Participation in Provincetown Art Association Annual exhibitions begins
1959
Artwork sales become sustainable source of income
Marriage to Terence Barrell, reception at studio of Myron Stout, Provincetown, MA
Exhibits in inaugural group exhibition at Delancey Street Museum, NY
1960
Stages Happening A Garden followed by solo exhibition of self-portraits at Delancey Street Museum, NY
Birth of daughter, Jane Angel Barrell
Exhibits and sells four paintings in group exhibition Young America 1960: Thirty American Painters
Under Thirty-Six, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
1961
Represented by the Cober Gallery, NY
Travels to Florence, Italy. Stays near Mimi Gross, Red Grooms, and Bob Beauchamp. Side trips to Ravenna, Padua, Venice, Verona, Siena, Antibes, and London. Birth of second daughter, Catherine Anne Barrell.
Switches representation to Alan Gallery
1962–63
Fulbright Fellowship, Paris, France. The family lives in Bures-sur-Yvette. Travels to Spain, Italy, with a month-long stay in Greece. Paints with Dody Müller in her Paris studio.
1964
Completes several large group portraits.
1965
Lucas Samaras visits C-Scape dune shack in Provincetown, poses for portrait
1966
Visiting artist solo show at RISD
Features in Raymond Saroff’s film Private Parts: Artists and Others (1966–68)
1967
Dorothy Gees Seckler interview, summer, Provincetown, MA
1968
Summer in Stalaire, Fire Island, NY
1969
MacDowell Fellowship, spring
1971–72
Purchases farmhouse on four acres in Manorkill, NY
Separates from Terence Barrell. Visiting Professor at Louisiana State University at Baton
Rouge, where she begins a relationship with graduate student Richard Oliver
1972
Begins representation by ACA Gallery
1973–74
Professor, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
1974
Invited to participate in feminist art exhibitions and projects
1975
Moves to 80 North Moore Street, NY, where she lives from 1975 to 2016
Paul Cummings interview for Archives of American Art, NY
1977
Spends summer in East Hampton and Provincetown, MA
Jane and Kate attend City-As-School high school, befriend Jean Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz,
who visit Marcus’s studio frequently
1977–1994
Spends summers in East Hampton, NY
Professor and Visiting Artist at several colleges and universities.
1978–1992
Summer Residency at the University of Notre Dame.
1979
Solo exhibition at Terry Dintenfass Gallery, Marcus’s last solo presentation in New York until
2017
1979–80
Interview with Anne Harris Sutherland
1982
Travels to Europe, visits Joan Mitchell in Paris, France
1984
Marcia Marcus: Twenty Five Year Retrospective, Canton Art Institute, Ohio
Travels to Barbados with Lily Pilgrim
1985
Mother dies
1987–1988
Drives across United States visiting various friends and collectors. Inspired by southwestern states, especially New Mexico.
1989
Travels to New Delhi, India, for daughter Jane’s wedding. Side trips to Agra and Jaipur.
1990
Teaches at Chautauqua, NY
1991–1992
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Painting
1994
Visits an ailing de Kooning for the last time
1998
Trip to Victoria, British Columbia
2001 - 2010
Witnesses and photographs September 11 attacks on World Trade Center in New York. Depression follows. Ceases painting large works. Makes watercolor paintings of landscapes, small drawings, and computer-generated drawings
2007–2010
Inventory of work
2011–2016
Failing health needs part-time caretaker.
2016–2025 to a nursing home collaborates with family on documentary film and works on legacy plan
2017
Group and solo exhibitions draw new attention
2019
Attends Double Portrait: Mimi Gross and Marcia Marcus at Shirley Fiterman Art Center, NY
2025
Dies, March 27
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