Gina Marquand Gilmour
Gina Marquand Gilmour, 77, of Mattituck, passed away on Dec. 5, 2025 after a brief illness.
She was born Feb. 10, 1948 in Charlotte, N.C. to Mary-Nash Keesler and Monroe T. Gilmour. She is survived by two siblings, Monroe Gilmour and David Gilmour and numerous friends who loved her and admired her talent. Two sisters predeceased her: Betsy Hyde and Ethel de Uribe.
Gina earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. From 1976 to 1980 she held an artist-in-residency position with the North Carolina Arts and Science Council in Charlotte. She was a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, N.H.; and the Julia and David White Artists’ Colony, Costa Rica.
In 1999 Gina was artist-in-residence at William Steeple Davis Foundation in Orient, where she fell in love with the light and water. As a result, she said, new vistas, colors and feelings. came into her work, and “a spaciousness that came from living with a wide horizon.”
Her work is inspired by her life in North Carolina and her discovery of nature and is informed by her extensive travels in southern France, Ireland, Mexico and Japan. Much of Gina’s painting was figurative and frequently included water imagery.
In high school and throughout her early career, Gina was particularly admired for her sculptures that conveyed so much feeling. After the Sept. 11 attack in NY, she created a series of silk screens and ceramic sculptures called “Embraces” that depict couples taking comfort in each other’s embrace.
When asked in 2014 how she knew art would be her calling, she said: “From an early age I always made things. I was into animals and an important thing in my life was this garage behind my house. I rescued injured animals and cared for them and nursed them in the garage. Then I started making them out of clay. When the animals died, I buried them with their clay models so they wouldn’t be lonely.”
Gina’s beautiful spirit infused everything she made and every relationship she nurtured. She will be missed.
A memorial service and retrospective of her work is planned for the spring of 2026 at the William Ris Gallery in Jamesport, hosted by her dear friend and gallery owner/director Mary Cantone.
DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck is serving the family.
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