Madge Harding Ward

Madge Ward was a prolific award-winning multimedia Auburn artist born May 13, 1908 in Brown’s Valley, Yuba County. Her art interest began at the age of 9 and her favorite summers were taking art classes at various colleges and universities throughout California.

She descended from an educated matriarchal pioneer family that came to Downieville, California and opened a roadhouse at Oak Ranch in 1850. In addition to her grandmother and great grandmother who taught local children and miners, Madge’s mother and both aunts were teachers throughout the Gold Country. After graduating from Grass Valley High School and Chico State, Madge started her teaching career in a one room schoolhouse

in Meadow Vista in 1929. She then taught in many schools in Plumas, Nevada, Yuba and Placer county districts, before retiring from Loomis School District in 1971. She taught 6th grade for Auburn Union Elementary School in the display classroom here in the now Auburn City Hall from 1946-1951. She ended her 30 year teaching career but continued to volunteer as an educator, art instructor and supporter of libraries and art. Her works were donated to the Placer County Library and Placer Hills School District.

She illustrated a children’s book “Old Grumpy Porcupine” with her ink drawings. She attracted the interest of the author during a Chico show of her “brownies” (elf- like characters) she created while in college.

Her work was displayed at the Crocker Art Museum twice (Brownies 1942 and Stitchery in 1960), Gump’s in San Francisco, Haggin Gallery in Stockton, The Gallery in Nevada City and in numerous art shows in Placer and Nevada counties. She won awards in juried shows throughout Northern California.

Madge was instrumental in providing the Auburn area exposure to quality art through the Auburn Association of University Women (AAUW) juried art shows.

She created using oil, watercolor, ink, pencil, charcoal, collage, metal sculpture, ceramics, wood construction, bolt and nail sculpture, sand casting, soapstone carving, batik, printmaking, tempera, stitchery and fabric hangings, and quilts.

At the age of 80, she started a scissor-cut greeting cards business based on simplified b otanical specimens and her “brownies”.

“Art is really a matter of learning to see, the artist is always aware of what is around her.”