For over forty years Martha Madigan created photograms that refer to, record, or transform aspects of nature and the human figure. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Madigan studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (B.S.) and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (M.F.A.). Throughout her career, she explored a variety of light-sensitive materials from the earliest cyanotype process to the latest technology in digital color photography. Working predominantly under the sunlight of Pennsylvania and Maine with models who were most often her own three children, Madigan sought to find “the essential truth in the teachings of nature; death and life as a continuum; the temporary nature of the body; and the struggle between human desire and spiritual evolution.”

Madigan considered her work a direct experience of light and the fragility of life through the seasons. A professor a Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia since 1979, Madigan was honored with numerous awards of distinction including a 1996 Leeway Grant for Excellence in Photography. In 1996, the Haggerty Art Museum in Milwaukee organized her first solo museum

1978 
MFA - School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1976 
Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY (Summer)

1972-73 
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Graduate Studies)

1972 
BS in Art Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
 

SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, CA
Colorado Mountain College, Breckenridge, CO
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA
Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
The Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
The Pinhole Resource, San Lorenzo, NM
Research Center, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2009
Infiorate: flower carpet paintings of Italy: an artist’s perspective, The Philadelphia Flower Show, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
Joan Shepp Boutique, Philadelphia, PA
Summer Snow?, The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, New York, NY

2008
Martha Madigan:  Botanical Portrait, Tuska Center for Contemporary Art, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; Ligne Roset, Philadelphia, PA

2007
Martha Madigan:  Autumn Equinox:  Human Nature, The Mariboe Gallery, Peddie School, Hightstown, NJ

2006
Martha Madigan: This World is Like a Garden in Bloom Only for a Few Days, Villa Poniatowki, Rome, Italy

2003
Martha Madigan: Graciela Growth, Terminal F, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, PA
Martha Madigan, Solar Photograms: New Work, Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, Philadelphia, PA

2001 
Human Nature, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA
Vernal Equinox, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY
Martha Madigan, Recent Work: Solar Photograms, Philadelphia Artists Open Studio Tours, Philadelphia, PA

2000
United States Embassy Exhibition 2000, Art in Embassies Program, Windhoek, Namibia

1998 
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY

1997 
Martha Madigan: Exploring the Human Spirit, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Pittsburgh, PA
Seeds of Light, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY

1996 
New Image Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Human Nature: Solar Photograms by Martha Madigan, Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

1994 
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY

1993 
Red Eye Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

1990 
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Snug Harbor Cultural Arts Museum, Staten Island, NY

1986 
St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA
Foreman Gallery, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY

1985 
University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Notre Dame College, Baltimore, MD

1983 
Amarillo College, Amarillo, TX
Colorado Mountain College, Breckenridge, CO

1981 
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI

1980 
Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA

1979 
Columbia College, Chicago. IL
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Sol Mednick Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

1978 
Metro State College, Denver, CO

1977 
The Hayes Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

1973 
Fort Sheridan Gallery, Fort Sheridan, IL
The North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka, IL
 

2009
Seasons, permanent installation at Rittenhouse Square Lobby, 1845 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA

2003-04
Philadelphia Eagles Football Stadium Murals, Philadelphia, PA

2002-04 
PS/IS #499, (Public Elementary School), Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY

2001 
Percent for Art Commission, City of New York, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY

2000-02 
Seasons, Temple University Children’s Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA

1996
Elements, CoreStates Center (First Union Center), Philadelphia, PA