Born at Richmond, Virginia in March 1866, she came to St. Catharines, Ontario with her parents at an early age. Educated locally, she pieced together an art education over the years, studying at Toronto, Buffalo, and New York City. In 1902 she toured Europe, thanks to a small inheritance. Her exhibition record expanded in the early years of the century. In 1907, she married businessman Frank Hooker, a widower with several children who had been married to her best friend, and moved to Selkirk. She continued painting in Selkirk, shifting to Manitoba subjects. She also founded the Selkirk Art Club (1923) and Dickens Club. A devout Anglican, she often painted Anglican churches. She left Selkirk after the death of her husband and died at St. Catharines in 1946.
-”Memorable Manitobans: Marion Nelson Hooker (1866-1946)”, Manitoba Historical Society [online], 2019
