Marian Blakeslee Walker

Marian Blakeslee Walker was born on January 29, 1898. She was active in Kansas City as a craftsperson, painter and designer. She attended Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago. She studied under Charles A. Wilimovsky, Anthony Angarola, Ivan Summers, William Wallace Rosenbauer, Edmund Kopietz, and Robinson, fine-tuning her craft of handiworks, painting and design.

She was a member of the Kansas City Art Institute Alumni, Mid-America Artists, and the Kansas City Society of Artists. She exhibited with these groups, and participated for several years in the Midwestern Artists’ Exhibition and the Kansas City Society of Artists exhibitions. She also exhibited at the Missouri State Fair in 1930, and the All-American Women’s Exhibition in Topeka, Kansas, in 1936.

Walker specialized in toleware, which are items that are kitchen-related, typically metal, that are often in decorative styles. She contributed articles on toleware to House Beautiful, House & Gardens, and other national magazines. She also gave lectures on toleware, decorative art, and color and design.

She owned her own business, Marian Walker, Inc., which she started in 1941 and held the position of president. Her work can be found at the Scarritt Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri. She died on August 2, 1959, in Kansas City.