For our first “Virtual Visit” during Cascadia’s temporary closure, curator David Martin brings you a glimpse into the life and select works of artist Mac Harshberger (1901-1975).
Born Frank Macoy Harshberger Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, “Mac” Harshberger was raised in an artistically inclined family, the son of a prominent local attorney. Harshberger became a part of Tacoma’s artistic community during the early twentieth century, mostly through his sister Kay Harshberger with whom he would collaborate on several publications.
Harshberger studied at the University of Washington under Ambrose Patterson and later studied in France at the Académie Ranson under Maurice Denis and François Quelvée.
He collaborated with his life partner Holland Robinson on several publications and illustrated sheet music for Robinson’s musical compositions. In today’s video, David highlights two of these illustrations from the “Loose Lyrics of Lovely Ladies” series that are on display in Cascadia’s Gateway Gallery as part of our “The Lavender Palette: Excerpts” exhibition.
Mac Harshberger is one of the artists featured in The Lavender Palette: Gay Culture and the Art of Washington State (http://www.cascadiaartmuseum.orgcascadiaartmuseum.org/museum-store/) , the highly anticipated and most recent book written by David Martin and published by Cascadia. The book will arrive at the museum – and be ready for pickup – later this spring.
You can support the museum and secure your copy by pre-ordering The Lavender Palette now . Please also consider supporting Cascadia during this time by making your donation online. We’ll get through this together!
We hope you enjoy today’s Virtual Visit to Cascadia, and stay tuned for more videos next week. As always, stay healthy and thank you for being part of our Cascadia community.