Margaret Wharton

Margaret Wharton (1943-2014) was an American artist, known for her sculptures of deconstructed chairs. She deconstructed, reconstructed and reimagined everyday objects to make works of art that could be whimsical, witty or simply thought-provoking in reflecting her vision of the world. A longtime Chicago-based artist, Wharton had a prolific and celebrated career. Her work is included in a number of national museums and collections, and she has had lasting impact on multiple generations of artists. She died in her house at the age of 70 on January 20, 2014, in Riverside because of 'complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease'. Biography Margaret Wharton was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1943. She received a degree from the University of Maryland in College Park and worked briefly in advertising before marrying and moving to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where her husband began working at Bethlehem Steel. After starting a family Wharton became interested in working with steel. She took her first welding course at Moravian College in 1967.