Charles Marega

Who was Charles Marega?

Charles Carlos Marega was a Canadian sculptor in the early 20th century.

He was born in Lucinico, in the commune of Gorizia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. He received training in plaster work in Mariano, Italy and then studied in Vienna and Zurich. He met Bertha in Zurich, who he married in 1899. He worked for a while in South Africa then moved to Canada, arriving in Vancouver in October 1909, on their way to California. The North Shore Mountains reminded Bertha of her native Switzerland, which led to them settle in Vancouver. Charles Marega lived in Canada for the rest of his life. In 1936, Bertha died. He later became a sculpture teacher at the Vancouver School of Art. He died in 1939 after teaching a class at the Vancouver School of Art.

His works include:

King Edward VII fountain – now at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

President Warren Harding Memorial in Stanley Park.

The Stanley Park “promenade”, a concrete pedestrian bridge extending from a city sidewalk between the Stanley Park Causeway and the seawall in Coal Harbour.

Joe Fortes Memorial Fountain at English Bay.

Michelangelo and DaVinci at Vancouver Art Gallery.