One of the region’s finest painters, Paul Morgan Gustin (1886- 1974) was born at Ft. Vancouver, WA and was raised in Denver, CO where he studied with Jean Manheim (1863-1945). He returned to Seattle in 1906 and was inspired by the majestic beauty of the Northwest...
There is a good reason why Washington has been referred to as the Evergreen State. One of the outstanding features of our region lies in its natural beauty. Very few states can boast such a lush and exuberant landscape. Whether the trees and flowers are viewed within...
Northwest Social Realism and the American Scene is an exhibition focused on Northwest artists and their depictions of scenes of everyday life in the Northwest during the 1930s through the 1950s. Many of the works reflect the industrial, political and social aspects...
We are featuring a selection of rare sculpture by major Northwest artists covering the decades of 1920’s-1960’s. Artists working in wood, plaster, marble and bronze include Everett DuPen, John Carl Ely, Marvin Herard, James FitzGerald, Phillip Levine, Ebba Rapp, and...
Peggy Strong (1912-1956) was one of the leading regional artists of the mid-20th century. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Strong studied at the Annie Wright Seminary, the University of Washington and privately with Mark Tobey, Sarkis Sarkisian and Frederick Taubes. Peggy...
For decades, the art world has attempted to place barriers between stylistic variations in an artist’s production. “Realism” has been denigrated in favor of “Abstraction” with the idea that it is somehow more valid or relevant to whatever decade it happened to be...
Washington State has been the home for many artistic photographers who achieved national and international recognition during their lifetimes. This exhibition reintroduced the public to the works of several artists who worked during the period of 1940-1970. Some of...
Born Takehisa Matsudaira in Seattle, he was educated in Kanazawa, Japan and returned to Seattle in 1935. While he and his family were detained in the Minidoka Internment Camp, John enlisted in the US Army and served in the legendary 442nd Infantry Regiment, the most...
“She was a small, round, plump little lady with the dynamism of a rocket, and we were all terrified of her, terrified of her tongue and in a way, terrified of her dream”. – Martha Graham Nellie Centennial Cornish (1876-1956) Just as her middle name celebrated the...
Our inaugural exhibition presented many of the original paintings included in the 2015 University of Washington Press publication documenting the history of this important and influential arts organization. Most of these paintings had not been seen by the public for...
