Tacoma Art Museum

A Concise History of Northwest Art
Checklist
10/3/09-5/23/10
September 23, 2009

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1890-1900

The first non-Native artists to record the Northwest accompanied the land surveying expeditions in the late 1700s and early 1800s. As settlers moved in during the following decades, artists followed. Nationally prominent artists including Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) and Thomas Moran (1837–1926) also visited, and their romantic images of the Northwest’s dramatic landscapes inspired more settlers to move West.

Photography’s increasing popularity offered another medium for artists to create the portraits and landscape images that were in demand. The Oregon Camera Club, formed in 1894, was the earliest group of its kind in the Northwest.

It was during the 1890s that the Northwest’s art communities began to put down roots. In Seattle, Ella Bush opened the Seattle Art School; a group of civic-minded Portlanders founded the Portland Art Museum; and in Tacoma both the Tacoma Art League (precursor of Tacoma Art Museum) and the Ferry Museum (now the Washington State History Museum) were established. Many of these institutions, as well as state colleges and universities, offered art classes for both amateurs and professionals. Though little-known now, the early art educators, many of them women, were highly trained in Europe or back East and were pivotal in both the birth and flourishing of Northwest art.

Skokomish storage basket, circa late 19th century
Cattail, bark, bear grass
12 x 12 x 12 inches
Collection of Sue Horn-Caskey and C. F. Caskey, Courtesy of Quintana Galleries, Portland, Oregon

Alice Engley Beek
Born Providence, Rhode Island, 1867
Died Tacoma, Washington, 1951
Low Tide, Puget Sound, Washington, not dated
Watercolor on paper
16 1/4 x 25 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Homer O. Blair, 1998.51

James Everett Stuart
Born Bangor, Maine, 1852
Died San Francisco, California, 1941
Lake Steilacoom, 1892
Oil on canvas
14 x 22 inches
Collection of Michael Parsons and Marte Lamb

1900-1910

The 1900s saw a major influx of artists to the Northwest from all parts of the United States as well as Europe and Asia. Many had trained in Europe or back East and brought the latest artistic ideas to the Northwest. Artists formed a variety of organizations for the exchange of information and ideas, including the Seattle Fine Arts Society (precursor to the Seattle Art Museum) and the British Columbia Society of Artists. Sketch clubs offered artists a chance to pool their money to rent space and hire models. These clubs and societies also hosted exhibitions, providing artists a rare public venue for showing and selling their work. Women continued to play leading roles as teachers and in the founding of arts societies and institutions.

The 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland and the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle in 1909 were also important sources for new artistic ideas for artists and the art-loving public. Both included major art loan exhibitions with work ranging in style from French impressionism to American modernism. Both also had buildings where work by regional artists was displayed.

1910-1920

The Northwest art community’s momentum continued into the 1910s with the founding of new art schools, including the Oregon College of Art and Craft and Museum Art School in Portland as well as Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. At these new institutions as well as the existing ones, focus shifted increasingly away from classes for the general public to the training of professional artists and a serious commitment to programs staffed by highly trained teachers and grounded in artistic theory and fundamentals.

The influx of European and European-trained artists, some of them refugees from World War I, sparked a noticeable shift away from the strictly representational art that had been popular, toward more modern viewpoints. Northwesterners found themselves face-to-face with impressionism, abstraction, and surrealism and were shocked like the rest of the nation by Marcel Duchamp’s (1887–1968) cubist Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, which toured the Northwest after the groundbreaking 1913 New York Armory Show.

The decade also saw the start of regular exhibitions showcasing the artists of the Northwest with the establishment of the Northwest Annuals and the Artist of the Pacific Northwest exhibitions in Seattle.

Sydney Laurence
Born Brooklyn, New York, 1865
Died Anchorage, Alaska, 1940
Mt. McKinley, Alaska, not dated
Oil on canvas
Frame: 17 ½ x 23 ½ inches
Frye Art Museum, Bequest of Gertrude Burman, 1995

Tillamook twined flat purse, circa 1900
Cattail, bear grass
Dimensions to come
Courtesy of Jack and Jane Curtright

Wasco "Sally Bag," circa 1900
Hemp fiber, leather
9 inches high x 5 1/2 inches diameter
Collection of Andrew Crosby, Courtesy of Quintana Galleries, Portland, Oregon

Imogen Cunningham
Born Portland, Oregon, 1883
Died San Francisco, California, 1976
On Mount Rainier 8, 1915
Gelatin silver print
Mat: 18 x 14 ¼ inches
Promised gift of Shari and John Behnke

Ambrose Patterson
Born Australia, 1877
Died Seattle, Washington, 1967
Point Lobos, circa 1917–18
Oil on canvas
Frame: 47 x 63 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase in honor of Wendell L. Ott, 1992.22

1920-1930

The formation of the Seattle Camera Club in 1924 offered the Puget Sound region’s flourishing photography community opportunities for greater public exposure as well as the exchange of ideas. Members included internationally known photographer Ella McBride (1862–1965) as well as Japanese-American photographers Dr. Kyo Koike (1878–1947) and Frank A. Kunishige (1878–1960), who brought Japanese aesthetics to Northwest photography. The Northwest Printmakers Annuals at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle also were launched during this period, marking the Northwest’s enthusiastic embrace of the national revival in printmaking.

The fledgling art scene in British Columbia began to flourish in the 1920s with the formation of the British Columbia Art League and the founding of the Vancouver School of Art (now the Emily Carr University of Art and Design). Two new museums opened in Washington State: the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington and the Maryhill Museum of Art in the Columbia Gorge. Regional schools continued to attract a mix of traditional and modernist artists, a divide that became steadily more apparent in the art press and in some exhibitions where, to avoid controversy, separate divisions and awards were offered for the two styles.

Myra Albert Wiggins
Born Salem, Oregon, 1869
Died Seattle, Washington, 1956
Dethroned, circa 1921
Silver chloride print
8 ½ x 6 ½ inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of David Martin and Dominic Zambito

Wayne Albee
Born Tacoma, Washington, 1882
Died San Diego, California 1937
Portrait of the Dancer Evangeline Edwards, circa 1922
Tinted silver print
6 1/8 x 4 ¼ inches
Gift of David Martin and Dominic Zambito

Ella McBride
Born Albia, Iowa, 1862
Died Seattle, Washington, 1965
Untitled (Cherry blossoms and birdcage), 1925
Silver print
13 3/4 x 10 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Richard Anderson and Martin-Zambito Fine Art, 2002.15.5

Edgar Forkner
Born Richmond, Indiana
Died 1945
Golden Sails (Ballard, Seattle), 1928
Oil on canvas
Frame: 26 ½ x 33 ½ inches
Collection of Jay and Heather Franklin

1930-1940

The Northwest art community was at a crossroads by the end of the 1920s. Patrons and galleries were rare and the Great Depression made art a luxury for many. However, as part of his New Deal programs for reviving the depressed economy, President Roosevelt included jobs for artists to create work for government and civic buildings. The program also established rural art centers that offered exhibitions and free art classes for the public. The art centers drew a number of progressive young artists to the Northwest who later became important figures in the region’s art community, including Carl and Hilda Morris and Guy Anderson.

Despite the depressed economy new museums opened in Boise, Seattle, and Vancouver, and the schools continued to bring in influential artists for workshops and lectures. Notable visitors included the modernist sculptor Alexander Archipenko (1887–1964) and avant-garde painter Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1966). Though public taste favored American scene painting, that is scenes of daily life in the region, Northwest artists were practicing a variety of styles from realism to pure abstraction. As well, the 1930s saw a marked increase in requests for Northwest art for exhibitions outside the region.

Thomas Handforth
Born Tacoma, Washington, 1897
Died Pasadena, California, 1948
Dance of the Tecuanes, circa 1930
Etching
11 1/8 x 13 7/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Carolyn Schneider Collection, Gift of Col. and Mrs. A. H. Hooker, 1970.166.13.1

Peter Camfferman
Born The Hague, Holland, 1890
Died Seattle, Washington,1957
Untitled (beach scene), circa 1930s
Oil on artist board
26 x 30 inches
Gift of Maureen Duryee

Clayton Sumner (C. S.) Price
Born Bedford, Iowa, 1874
Died Portland, Oregon, 1950
Untitled (Man Plowing), circa 1930s
Oil on board
Frame: 17 ½ x 21 ½ inches
Collection of Arlene and Harold Schnitzer

Dorothy Dolph Jensen
Born Forest Grove, Oregon, 1895
Died Seattle, Washington, 1977
Freighters on Lake Union, circa 1930s-1950s
Woodblock print
5 3/4 x 7 7/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Julia MacFarland and Martin-Zambito Fine Art, 1992.17.1

Kenjiro Nomura
Born Gifuken, Japan,1896
Died Seattle, Washington,1956
Puget Sound, circa 1933
Oil on canvas
19 5/8 x 23 3/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril A. Spinola, 1992.8

Plateau beaded bag, Washington State, circa 1935
Glass beads, leather, trade wool, leather, shell, tax tokens
21 x 13 inches with fringe
Courtesy of Quintana Galleries, Portland, Oregon

Morris Graves
Born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910
Died Loleta, California, 2001
Chalice Holding the Stimson Mill, 1936
Oil on canvas
Frame: 68 1/2 x 41 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Robert Ohashi, Ross Ohashi and Arnold Ohashi, 2007.14

Jacob Lawrence
Born Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1917
Died Seattle, Washington, 2000
Street Orator’s Audience, 1936
Tempera on paper
24 x 19 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roger W. Peck by exchange, 1995.10

Peggy Strong
Born Aberdeen, Washington, 1912
Died San Francisco, California, 1956
Young Man with Trowel, 1939
Oil on canvas
Frame: 44 7/8 x 37 3/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Catharine Strong Sammons, 2001.1

1940-1950

Though the Works Progress Administration’s art programs ended in 1942, they encouraged a generation of Northwest artists to pursue art as a career and made art accessible to the general public, benefits that continued after the war ended. As well, new residents, including European war refugees, brought new influences and opportunities, particularly in Alaska with the founding of the Alaska Artist Guild and Annual exhibitions. Post-war GI Bill benefits helped a large number of veterans to attend college, creating a boom for the region’s art schools.

By the 1940s, elements of modern art such as expressive color and manipulated space had become widespread, just as modern designs and inventions pervaded everyday life for most Americans. Though representational images continued to be popular, art that had a social, political, moral, or spiritual message had taken root during the Depression years and become the preferred mode of expression for a number of Northwest artists. One Seattle group in particular, known as The Northwest Mystics, shared an interest in imbuing their work with heightened meanings.

Walter Isaacs
Born Gillespie, Illinois, 1886
Died Seattle, Washington, 1964
Untitled, circa 1940s
Oil and graphite on paper
Frame: 21 1/2 x 25 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Paul I. Gingrich, Jr. in memory of Pernilla K. Johnson, 2000.38

Zama Vanessa Helder
Born Lynden, Washington, 1904
Died 1968
Pettit Mansion, 1942
Watercolor
Frame: 25 ¼ x 29 ½ inches
Collection of Jay and Heather Franklin

Maude Kerns
Born Portland, Oregon, 1876
Died Eugene, Oregon, 1965
Yang and Yin, 1943
Oil on canvas
26 x 23 1/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Leslie Brockelbank through Bill Rhoades, 2007.51

William Givler
Born Omaha, Nebraska, 1908
Died Portland, Oregon, 2000
On the Beach, 1945
Oil on canvas
Frame: 29 1/4 x 41 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the City of Seattle, 2001.8.1

Charles Heaney
Born Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, 1897
Died Portland, Oregon, 1981
Blue Mountain Lake, circa 1945-1955
Oil on masonite
Frame: 16 x 30 7/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Partial museum purchase and partial gift of James L. Haseltine, in memory of Maury Haseltine, 1999.31.5

Yvonne Twining Humber
Born New York City, New York, 1907
Died Redmond, Washington, 2004
Carnival, 1946
Color silkscreen
11 1/2 x 13 7/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of David F. Martin, Dominic Zambito, and the artist, 1999.11.1

Spencer Moseley
Born Bellingham, Washington, 1925
Died Seattle, Washington, 1998
Olympia Landscape, 1947
Oil on artist board
Frame: 26 x 31 7/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Max Moseley and Grendl Lofkvist Moseley, 1999.46.11

Jacob Elshin
Born Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1892
Died Seattle, Washington, 1976
On the Watch, 1948
Oil on canvas
Frame: 58 3/4 x 40 3/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the estate of Mrs. Elizabeth Titcomb, 1978.15

Mark Tobey
Born Centerville, Wisconsin, 1890
Died Basel, Switzerland, 1976
Point of Intersection, 1949
Tempera on panel
Frame: 19 x 21 5/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hollis Day, 1978.5

1950-1960

The 1950s were a period of transition nationally as well as in the Northwest. The desire to forget the Depression and war years resulted in a determined rejection of tradition and embrace of the clean, spare lines of modern design, space-age architecture, and the latest inventions. With Europe still struggling to recover from the devastations of World War II and many of its leading artists recent immigrants to the United States, New York became the new center for the avant-garde, most notably the abstract expressionist movement. A number of Northwest artists rapidly adopted this new style with its focus on the process and materials of art making and an artist’s individual vision rather than subject matter. They also experimented with other forms of pure abstraction.

Northwest photographers pursued the industrial aesthetic, creating sharply focused images of urban streets, industry, and technology. Others created series of portraits of the Northwest’s artists and cultural figures.

The 1950s also saw the beginnings of a fledgling gallery scene in major Northwest cities, such as Kharouba Gallery in Portland and the Otto Seligman Gallery in Seattle.

Ruth Penington
Born Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1905
Died Seattle, Washington, 1998
Untitled, not dated
Silver, opals, moonstones, agates
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Gene and Liz Brandzel, 1998.6

Paul Horiuchi
Born Oishi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, 1906
Died Seattle, Washington, 1999
Untitled, late 1950s
Frame: 49 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches
Ink, Japanese paper, and paint on masonite
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Janice Niemi and Dennis Braddock, 2007.37.1

James W. Washington, Jr.
Born Gloster, Mississippi, 1909
Died Seattle, Washington, 2000
The Cup (Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), 1952
Encaustic paint on board
Frame: 24 x 33 ½ inches
Promised gift of Paul I. Gingrich, Jr.

Peter Voulkos
Born Bozeman, Montana, 1924
Died Bowling Green, Ohio, 2002
Bottle with Brown and Blue Calligraphy, 1953
Stoneware
9 7/8 x 5 1/2 x 4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of John D. McLauchlan, 1993.12.3

Louis Bunce
Born Lander, Wyoming, 1907
Died Portland, Oregon, 1982
Thallophyta, 1954
Oil on canvas
49 3/8 x 32 inches
Martin of Tours Collection, Saint Martin’s Abbey

Christian Staub
Born Menzingen, Switzerland, 1918
Died Seattle, Washington, 2004
Paris, Gare de l’Est, 1954
Gelatin silver print
8 15/16 x 13 9/16 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2004.16.19

Carl Morris
Born Yorba Linda, California, 1911
Died Portland, Oregon, 1993
Mountain Echo, 1955
Oil on linen
Frame: 43 5/ 8 x 49 1/ 8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Aloha Club, 1971.14 A-B

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921
Died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Beaded Necklace, circa 1958
Silver and ancient glass beads
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Caryl Roman, 2001.48.6

Kenneth Callahan
Born Spokane, Washington, 1905|
Died Long Beach, Washington, 1986
Preliminary Study for United Nations Security Council Competition, 1959-60
Tempera on board
Frame: 29 1/2 x 71 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Art Museum, 1998.26.15

1960-1970

The decade of the 1960s is remembered best for two art events that placed the accomplishments of regional artists in a context and value system defined by trends and ideas from outside the region, particularly New York. During the 1962 Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair), four exhibitions showcased regional art: Northwest Art Today, a selection of historic Native American works, Adventures in Art, and a survey of works by Mark Tobey from the Seattle Art Museum’s collection. These exhibitions contrasted with two surveys, Art since 1950, featuring prominent international and American artists. Visitors to the fair had a rare opportunity to compare the strengths, accomplishments, and interests of the region’s artists with those of acclaimed figures such as Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), and Jackson Pollock (1912–1956).

The second art event was Seattle Art Museum’s 557087, a major exhibition organized by Lucy Lippard in 1969. This ground-breaking show was the first survey of conceptual art in the Northwest, raising awareness of this new direction in fine arts and offering a jarring contrast to the region’s primary production of studio painting and craft.

During this decade, the seeds were planted to establish a vigorous art community that defined itself beyond an earlier generation’s regionalist affinity.

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921
Died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Untitled, circa 1960
Silver and rose quartz
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Caryl Roman, 2001.48.4

Virna Haffer
Born Aurora, Illinois, 1899
Died Tacoma, Washington, 1974
Rattlesnake Grass, 1960s
Photogram
13 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of John Butler, 2007.46.1

Chuck Close
Born Monroe, Washington, 1940
Nostalgia #2, 1960
Oil on canvas
Frame: 47 x 34-3/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Russell and Marjorie Day, 2005.31

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921
Died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Untitled, 1961
Sterling silver and enamel
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Gloria Crouse, 2005.32

Rudy Autio
Born Butte, Montana, 1926
Died Missoula, Montana, 2007
Untitled, 1961
Ceramic
19 x 11 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Gene and Liz Brandzel, 1998.36

Hilda Morris
Born New York, New York, 1911
Died Portland, Oregon, 1991
Rim of an Ancient Wave, 1961
Ink on paper
26 1/2 x 55 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1963.5

Robert Sperry
Born Bushnell, Illinois, 1927
Died Seattle, Washington, 1998
Bowl, 1961
Ceramic
3 x 21 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Art Museum, 1998.26.4

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Diied Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Snot Pendant, circa 1962
Brass and rock
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.43

Guy Anderson
Born Edmonds, Washington, 1906
Died La Conner, Washington, 1998
Cultural Fragments-Han-Haida-Greek, 1962
Acrylic paint, chalk, and glue on paper
Sheet: 15 3/16 x 40 1/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of William S. and Janice Street, 1997.24.4

Orville Chatt
Born 1924
Died Sedro Wooley, Washington, 2007
Untitled, 1964
Silver and ebony
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2004.14.1

Michael Spafford
Born Palm Springs, California, 1935
Bellerophon, 1966
Oil and mixed media on paper
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Arts Museum, 1998.26.70

Robert Colescott
Born Oakland, California, 1925
The Virgin Queen, circa 1967
Oil on canvas
76 x 57 5/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Helen Ivey, 1997.4

Howard Kottler
Born Cleveland, Ohio, 1930
Died Seattle, Washington, 1989
Yankee Yente’s Pony Pelt, 1967
Ceramic, pony fur, and sheep fleece
15 1/2 x 15 x 10 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Anne Gerber, 2005.6

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Tongue, 1967
Silver, amber, and leather
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.4

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Untitled (Nipple), 1967
Electroformed copper with plastic
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.3

Don Tompkins
Born Everett, Washington, 1933
Died Seattle, Washington, 1982
Henry Miller, Hoki Tokua (Commemorative Medal Pendant), 1967
Sterling silver, coin, and man-made stones
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Russell and Marjorie Day, 2003.52

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921
Died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Necklace, 1967
Silver set with coral, lapis, and turquoise
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Caryl Roman, 2001.48.7

James FitzGerald
Born Seattle, Washington, 1910
Died Seattle, Washington, 1973
The Buggy, 1968
Bronze
31 x 27 x 38 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1999.9

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Untitled, 1968
Bronze, Plexiglas and plastic wire
Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.5

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Zoo, 1968
Wood, ceramic, and chrome-plated brass
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.9

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Untitled (Zipper), 1968
Silver, brass, and leather
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.8

Pencil Brothers
Ken Cory, born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Leslie LePere, born Spokane, Washington, 1946
Homage to Bob Helm, 1969
Copper, brass, silver, wood, silk, Plexiglas, and pen and ink drawing on paper
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Leslie LePere, 1997.26.1

1970-1980

The decade began with the arrival of the esteemed painter Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) in the Northwest. Lawrence’s position in the history of 20th-century art makes his decision to settle in Seattle unparalleled. Also in 1970, influential gallerist Linda Farris opened her gallery in Bellevue then moved to Seattle’s Pioneer Square the following year.

The 1970s were marked by the establishment of critical new venues for the creation and presentation of art. One of the most significant achievements was the founding of Pilchuck Glass School by Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) and art patrons Anne Gould Hauberg and John Hauberg in 1971. Because of their vision and determination, Pilchuck is today world renowned and a cornerstone of the region’s artistic identity.

Additionally, the Northwest led the nation in the establishment of government funding for public art projects such as the 1% for Art Program in King County, Washington, in 1973. The states of Washington and Oregon followed soon after.

A third important development was a burgeoning interest in electronic art. Tacoma Art Museum hosted the symposium “Videotape as Fine Art” in 1973. The multi-disciplinary and/or gallery was founded in 1974 in part to foster experimentation in electronic art and music.

Kristen Hansen Singer
Butterfly Burlesque, not dated
Silver, brass, fiber, and pearls
Tacoma Art Museum, Colonel A. H. Hooker Memorial Purchase Award, 1974.14

Joseph Goldberg
Born Seattle, Washington, 1947
Cobalt Violet Dark, circa 1970
Encaustic and oil on linen on plywood
22 x 27 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Art Museum, 1998.26.26

Steven Fuller
Born c. 1911
Died 1999
Untitled (Necklace #1), circa 1970
Leather
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Shirley Fuller, 2001.17.1

Russell Day
Born Mead, Washington, 1912
Moon-Sand-Forever, 1970s
Silver, pebbles, black pearls, moonstones, and agate
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Russell and Marjorie Day, 2005.31.4

Robert Motherwell
Born Aberdeen, Washington, 1915
Died Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1991
Open No. 176 (in Crimson with Orange and Black Line), 1970
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 72 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1971.44

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Monument to Katie Moon, 1971
Lead, copper, brass, silver, enamel, glass, and plastic
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.36

Pencil Brothers

Ken Cory, born Kirkland, Washington, 1943

Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994

Leslie LePere, born Spokane, Washington, 1946
Camel, 1971
Enamel on copper, glass, and colored pencil
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Leslie LePere, 1997.26.2

Ruth Penington
Born Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1905
Died Seattle, Washington, 1998
Untitled, 1971
Silver and ermine tails
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Anne Gould Hauberg, 1999.16

Merrily Tompkins
Born 1947
Open and Shut Case with Exhibit A, 1972
Sterling silver, brass, Plexiglas, and alphabet macaroni
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Judge Janice Niemi, 2001.11

Alden Mason
Born Everett, Washington, 1919
Seed Shaker from the Burpee Series, circa 1972-73
Oil on canvas
69 ¼ x 85 ¼ inches
Promised gift of JP Morgan Chase

Mary Lee Hu
Born Lakewood, Ohio, 1943
#19, circa 1975
Silver
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Flora Book, 1998.35

Camille Patha
Born Seattle, Washington, 1938
The Conductor, 1975
Acrylic on masonite
47 1/4 x 47 1/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Artist, 1976.4

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Autumn Sunset (Candy Corn), 1975
Silver and acrylic resin
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.29

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Admit One, 1976
Enamel on copper and brass
Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.31

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Route 66, 1976
Enamel on copper and brass
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.34

William Ivey
Born Seattle, Washington, 1919
Died Seattle, Washington, 1992
Blues and Whites, 1976
Oil on canvas
61 1/2 x 61 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Aloha Club, 1977.2

Steven M. Brox
Born Seattle, Washington, 1942
Untitled, 1976
Silver and acrylic
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ramona Solberg, 2003.10

Jay Backstrand
Born Salem, Oregon, 1934
Stepping Down 1 & 2, 1977
Oil, wax and mixed media on canvas, diptych
78 x 60 inches, each panel
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of George H. Fleerlage in memory of Harvey D. Horne, M.D., 2008.11

Paul Berger
Born The Dalles, Oregon, 1948
2343, 1979
Gelatin silver print
11 x 20 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Bellevue Art Museum, 1998.26.12

Dennis Evans
Born Yakima, Washington, 1946
Box for Instruments (Shrine 7), 1979
Wood, lacquer, porcelain, string, wax, and copper
22 1/2 x 17 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lannan Foundation, 1999.38.3

Robert C. Jones
Born West Hartford, Connecticut, 1930
Carbon Falls, 1979
Oil on canvas
78 1/2 x 78 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Francine Seders, 1993.11

Roger Shimomura
Born Seattle, Washington, 1939
Minidoka No. 5 (442nd), 1979
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 74 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of George and Kim Suyama, 2003.76

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
V8, 1979
Silver, enamel, and carnelian
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.15

1980-1990

The 1980s were characterized by an explosion of “anywhere-isms,” a phrase used by critic Bill Berkson in his two-part article “Report from Seattle” for the magazine Art in America. Berkson used this term to describe various artistic styles not directly referencing a particular region.

In this light, one of the important milestones for the arts community was the exhibition Outside New York: Seattle at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and later at Seattle Art Museum. New Museum’s curator Ned Rifkin selected eight artists to represent the city, including Paul Berger (b. 1948), Marsha Burns (b. 1945), Dennis Evans (b. 1946), Randy Hayes (b. 1944), and Fay Jones (b. 1936).

Many artists and institutions continued to focus on their place within regional artistic traditions. For example, The Museum of Northwest Art was founded in La Conner, Washington, in 1981, to showcase the art of the Skagit Valley. Additionally, Seattle Art Museum began an exhibition series focusing on Northwest artists.

Publications and arts writing in the region were demonstrably stronger. Critics at both daily and alternative newspapers in Seattle and Portland provided important viewpoints about new works and exhibitions in the regions. One of the key publications from the decade was Bruce Guenther’s 50 Northwest Artists, published by Seattle Art Museum in 1983. This book remains an indispensable resource on the history of the Northwest.

Kiff Slemmons
Born Maston, North Carolina, 1944
Rosario, not dated
Silver with stone inlay
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ramona Solberg, 2004.6

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Untitled (Cupcake Box), 1980
Silver and copper
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.39 A–B

Manuel Izquierdo
Born Madrid, Spain, 1925
Died 2009
Iberian Venus, 1983
Bronze
22 7/8 x 10 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Sally Haley and Michele Russo, 1998.20

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921
Died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Camel Cage, 1983
Silver, camel bone, and Indian beads
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Flora Book, 1998.35.2

Julie Speidel
Born Seattle, Washington, 1941
Kitao, 1984
Copper with patina
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2004.44

Lucinda Parker
Born Boston, Massachusetts, 1942
Slim Shimmy Shanks, 1984
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
69 x 56 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Kathryn L. Skinner Living Trust, 2005.42.8

Marsha Burns
Born Seattle, Washington, 1945
Pillow, Anchorage, circa 1985
Gelatin silver print
19 1/8 x 15 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Anonymous gift, 1997.33.10

Dale Chihuly
Born Tacoma, Washington, 1941
Untitled Seaform Set, 1986
Blown glass
Dimensions variable
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ken Holmes, 2004.4 A-K

Randy Hayes
Born Jackson, Mississippi, 1944
Dying Light in Venice #1, 1986
Pastel on paper under Plex cutout, triptych
79 x 108 inches, overall
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lyn and Gerald Grinstein

Paul Marioni
Born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1941
Untitled self-portrait, 1987
Blown glass
10 x 7 inches
Collection of Dr. Dale Hall and Susan Russell Hall

Cris Bruch
Born Kansas City, Missouri, 1957
First, Cherry, Second, James, 1988
Graphite, charcoal, and colored pencil on paper
33 7/8 x 26 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mia McEldowney, 2004.33.4

Barbara Earl Thomas
Born Seattle, Washington, 1948
The Storm Watch, 1988
Egg tempera on paper
30 1/2 x 38 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Carol I. Bennett, 2004.34.1

George Tsutakawa
Born Seattle, Washington, 1910
Died Seattle, Washington, 1997
Chimera, 1988
Bronze
18 1/4 x 24 5/8 x 4 1/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Aloha Club, 1989.3

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Fire, 1988
Silver, copper, gold, and garnet
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.20

Gaylen Hansen
Born Garland, Utah, 1921
Kernal Riding through Snakes, 1989
Oil on canvas
60 1/2 x 72 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of William and Barbara Street, 1997.32

Jeffry Mitchell
Born Seattle, Washington, 1958
Dark French Brain, 1989
Etching
22 x 22 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Sean Elwood to the Erin and Caitlin Elwood Collection, 1999.40.3

1990-2000

A consensus about the scope and achievements of Northwest art created in the 1990s has not been reached. Throughout the decade, local writers including Patricia Failing and Ron Glowen sought to describe a general sense of anxiety about the strength of regional art in their articles for both local and national arts publications. Despite this unease, there was certainly no lack of ambition for constructing the infrastructure for the community. Major expansions were completed by the Seattle Art Museum, the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, and Portland Art Museum.

Perhaps in an effort to solidify recent achievements, a variety of projects emerged to assess the progress and strengths of the region’s art and artists. The Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum was infused with a new energy and sense of purpose in 1997, and the Northwest Biennial at Tacoma Art Museum began in 1990. The Bellevue Art Museum reinvigorated the Northwest Annual exhibitions. Additionally, Tacoma Art Museum initiated its 12th Street Series (today the Northwest Perspective Series), an annual one-person exhibition exploring in depth a mid-career artist’s development. Lastly, the Behnke Foundation established the Neddy Artist Fellowship, providing an additional, independent award for artistic excellence.

In 1995, Contemporary Art in the Northwest by Lois Allan surveyed 51 artists who represented the region’s most vital and consistent contributions.

Kiff Slemmons
Born Maston, North Carolina, 1944
Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1990
From the series Hands of the Heroes
Sterling silver
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Flora Book, 1998.35.1

Ron Ho
Born Honolulu, Hawaii, 1936
Vanished Wishes, 1990
Forged and fabricated silver with leather and enameling
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd Herman, 2005.36A–B

Susan Ford
Born Fort Worth, Texas, 1951
Beetlemania, 1990
Engraved oil painting on prehistoric mammoth ivory, 14 karat gold, and mixed media
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd Herman, 2007.43 A–B

James Lavadour
Born Pendleton, Oregon, 1951
Release the Sun, 1990–91
Oil on linen
83 x 83 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Rebecca and Alexander C. Stewart, 2000.43.11

Fay Jones
Born Boston, Massachusetts, 1936
Body Fires, 1991
Acrylic and collage on paper, triptych
75 x 52 1/2 inches, each panel
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1992.9 A-C

Michael Ehle
Born Salinas, California, 1953
Died Seattle, Washington, 2000
Fakir, 1992
Gouache on rice paper
72 x 36 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom, 2002.24

Mary Randlett
Born Seattle, Washington, 1924
Above Paradise, Mount Rainier, 1992, reprinted 2007
Gelatin silver print
8 5/8 x 13 5/8 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Nancy S. Nordhoff in honor of Mary Randlett, 2008.8.20

Ken Cory
Born Kirkland, Washington, 1943
Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Untitled (Beach), 1993
Silver, copper, and gold
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ken Cory, 1998.29.27

Mary Randlett
Born Seattle, Washington, 1924
Emerging City, Seattle, 1993, reprinted 2007
Gelatin silver print
6 x 9 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Nancy S. Nordhoff in honor of Mary Randlett, 2008.8.22

Julie Mihalisin
Born Gainesville, Florida, 1962
Untitled, 1994
Sterling silver, gold, and glass
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Helen Brooks, T2004–117

Keith Lewis
Born Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 1959
Our Dear Bob, 1995
Sterling silver, 14 karat gold plate, and copper plate
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Phillip Baldwin and Sharon Campbell, 2003.79

Patti Warashina
Born Spokane, Washington, 1940
Achilles’ Baptism in the River Styx, 1996
Ceramic and glazes
39 x 14 3/4 inches plus 24 3/8 x 36 inches base
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2001.38 A-B

Michael Brophy
Born Portland, Oregon, 1960
January, 1997
Oil on canvas
78 x 95 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Dr. Lester Baskin Memorial Fund, 1998.12

Karen Gilbert
Born Creswell, Oregon 1971
Untitled, 1997
Silver and glass
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd E. Herman, 2003.48

Robert Helm
Born Wallace, Idaho, 1943
Died Pullman, Washington, 2008
Where Birds Go at Night, 1998
Oil on panel
29 3/4 x 42 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase and anonymous gift, 1998.22.1

Susan Seubert
Born Indianapolis, Indiana, 1970
10 Most Popular Places to Dump a Body in the Columbia River Gorge, 1998
Gelatin silver print, artists proof from an edition of 10
Each 16 x 20 inches
Lewis and Clark State Park, Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Froelick Gallery, Portland, 2003.17
1000 Acres
Benson State Park
Corbett Boat Landing
Crown Point
Mile Marker 25 on the Old Columbia River Gorge Highway
NE 232nd and Marine Drive
North of Lewis and Clark State Park
Sandy River
SE Kerslake and Miller
Private collection

Lori Talcott
Born Olympia, Washington, 1959
Reliquary, 1998
Silver and gold-plated silver
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with Joan Hammond funds matched by Microsoft and the Ramona Solberg Endowment, 1999.32

Jeffrey Simmons
Born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1968
Eulalia, 1998
Oil and alkyd on linen
52 1/2 x 46 1/2 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Rebecca and Alexander Stewart, 1998.24

Mark Takamichi Miller
Born Oklahoma, 1960
Untitled, 1999
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 64 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ben and Aileen Krohn, 2002.16

Ramona Solberg
Born Watertown, South Dakota, 1921; died Seattle, Washington, 2005
Untitled, 1999
Rubber, silver, wood, shell, and bone
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1999.28

2000 to today

The current decade will be remembered for a significant building boom among arts organizations. The Bellevue Art Museum (now the Bellevue Arts Museum), the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, the Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, the Hallie Ford Museum at Willamette University in Salem, and Tacoma Art Museum completed major new building projects.

This explosive growth was mirrored by the growth of activity in commercial galleries in Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma. Some of these galleries participated in international art fairs in Miami, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and London, showcasing the ambition and talent of the region’s art. Responding to this trend, Seattle artists Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park established Aqua Art Miami in 2005. In Portland, the short-lived “Affair at the Jupiter Hotel” offered a heady mix of regional galleries from across the United States.

In 2003, a broad survey, Baja to Vancouver: The West Coast and Contemporary Art Core Sample, was co-organized by Seattle Art Museum. The catalogue will provide important insights into the region’s multiplicity of styles and interests. Responding to the project, a group of artists and curators in Portland organized Core Sample: Portland Art Now, a citywide series of events and exhibitions in October 2003.

Akio Takamori
Born Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan, 1950
Female Dwarf, 2000
Stoneware with underglazes
29 x 15 x 12 inches
Courtesy of the artist and James Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington

Mary Lee Hu
Born Lakewood, Ohio, 1943
Choker #83, 2000
22 karat and 18 karat gold
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Rotasa Foundation, Friends of Jewelry, and the Ramona Solberg Endowment, 2006.10

Phillip Baldwin
Born New York City, 1953
Untitled, 2001
Mokumé-gané
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2002.30.1

Bo Barlett
Born Columbus, Georgia, 1955
History Lesson, 2002
Oil on linen
82 1/2 x 101 inches
Collection of Frye Art Museum, Purchase, 2004

Cynthia Toops
Born 1956
Quilt, 2003
Polymer clay and silver
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ramona Solberg, 2004.40 A-B

Karen Gilbert
Born Creswell, Oregon 1971
Protect, 2004
Sterling silver, blown Pyrex glass, stainless steel cable, and enamel
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2004.41

Claire Cowie
Born Charlotte, North Carolina, 1975
Sky Village, 2005
Watercolor on paper
Sheet: 104 x 52 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of James and Judy Wagonfeld and William and Lisa Holderman, 2005.44

Claude Zervas
Born Bellingham, Washington, 1963
Forest #3.5, 2005
Digital projection: single channel computer algorithm, 4-minute cycle, continuous digital photograph, Java program, computer, and projector, no. 1 from an ed. of 1
Dimensions variable
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Bill and Ruth True, Josef Vascovitz, and Dawn Zervas, 2005.46

William Morris
Born Carmel, California, 1957
Medicine Jar, 2006
Hand blown and sculpted glass
25 x 10 x 10 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Anne Gould Hauberg, 2007.6

Alice Wheeler
Born Kansas City, Missouri, 1961
Apple Blossom Queen at the Daffodil Parade, Tacoma, 2003, 2006
Chromogenic print
24 x 19 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Ben and Aileen Krohn, 2007.50

Anya Kivarkis
Born Chicago, Illinois, 1975
Untitled, 2006
Fine and sterling silver and enamel auto paint
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Ramona Solberg Endowment, 2007.17

Alex Schweder
Born New York City, New York, 1970
Instructions for This Space: Painting, 2007
Vinyl, no. 2 from an edition of 10
Dimensions variable
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist and Lawrimore Project, 2008.6

Marie Watt
Born Seattle, Washington, 1967
Tear Down This Wall, 2007
Reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, and thread
61 x 64 inches
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Aloha Club, 2007.15

Sarah Hood
Born Seattle, Washington, 1968
Summer Tree Ring, 2007
Sterling silver, model railroad tree armature, and “underbrush,” “talus,” and “bush”
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, T2009-17-1

Sarah Hood
Born Seattle, Washington, 1968
Tree Ruff, 2008
Sterling silver and model railroad tree armatures
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase in honor of Sharon Campbell from her friends at Rotasa Foundation, T2009-17-4

Sarah Hood
Born Seattle, Washington, 1968
Root, 2008
Sterling silver and model railroad tree
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase in honor of Sharon Campbell from her friends at Rotasa Foundation, T2009-17-3

Sarah Hood
Born Seattle, Washington, 1968
Pine/Lily Bracelet, 2008
Sterling silver and model railroad pine trees
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Ramona Solberg Endowment, T2009-17-2

David Boxley, Tsimshian Nation
Born Metlakatla, Alaska, 1952
Sea Lion Headdress, 2008
Red cedar, sea lion whiskers, abalone, operculum shell, pigment
9 1/2 x 15 x 8 inches
Courtesy of Quintana Galleries, Portland, Oregon