July 21 – November 20, 2022
Several members of the Chase family were important figures in Washington state’s cultural history. Beginning in the 1920’s, brothers Waldo S. Chase (1895-1988) and Wendell Corwin Chase (1897-1988) produced some of the finest color woodblock prints in the country. Their sister Marjorie Chase Gilleland (1892-1963) was a talented painter, craftsperson and weaver who studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in the early 20th century. Their parents were also involved in the arts; their father Wendell Nye Chase (1863-1944) produced beautiful hand- crafted copperware and their mother Ella Ryther Chase (1872-1928) was a writer and pictorialist photographer. Ella’s mother was Olive “Mother” Ryther (1849-1934), a legendary Seattle figure who founded the Ryther Center for Children and Youth.
This exhibition is centered around a generous recent gift to our permanent collection by Marjorie’s daughter Florence Gilleland Schieve.
The exhibition will also include pieces by the Chase brothers circle of friends and contemporaries including the copper artisan Albert Berry (1878-1949) and artist/designer Orre Nelson Nobles (1897-1967) on loan from several prominent local collectors.
Image Credits:
- W. Corwin Chase (1897-1988), Summerland, 1929. Color woodblock print. Private collection.
- Marjorie Chase Gilleland (1892-1963), Decorated Teapot, circa 1920. Cascadia Art Museum, gift of Florence Scheive, 2021.9.82.a,b.
