Pacific Northwest Artists
The Frye Art Museum’s substantial collection of works by artists of the Pacific Northwest reflects the Museum’s transformation from a personal selection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century—predominantly European—oil paintings to a museum dedicated to creative practice in its myriad forms. Since opening in 1952 to the present day, the Museum has remained steadfast in exhibiting and collecting artworks by contemporary artists, especially those living and practicing in the city of Seattle and surrounding region.
Walser Sly Greathouse, executor of the Frye estate and founding director of the Museum, ensured Charles and Emma Frye's vision for a free, public art museum for the people of Seattle was brought to life. Beginning in 1952, Greathouse was the first of six directors who expanded the Museum’s collection, acquiring new works to enliven and contextualize the paintings bequeathed by the Fryes. Subsequent leaders sustained the Museum’s legacy within the evolving identity of the Pacific Northwest through the ongoing collection and exhibition of works by artists of the region—from Washington and Oregon up to Alaska. The Museum’s extensive holdings of Alaskan art were initially assembled by the Museum’s second director, Ida Kay Greathouse. Between 1969 and 1993, she acquired over 125 paintings and works on paper. Subsequent Frye directors Richard V. West, Midge Bowman, and Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker added 175 more works by artists associated with the northernmost state.
Highlights of the Pacific Northwest holdings range from twentieth-century Alaskan landscapes by artists such as Sydney Laurence and Eustace Paul Ziegler, to evocative works by contemporary artists and artist collectives across a broad range of mediums, including Juventino Aranda, the Black Constellation, Alison Bremner, Degenerate Art Ensemble, Ellen Lesperance, Jeffry Mitchell, Buster Simpson, and Ko Kirk Yamahira, among others.
by Artist
by Artist
by Year
by Object Type
Shining Armor
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1983
Short-Eared Owl
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1973
Sixteen Tons
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1984
Song of the Oogruk
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1982
Spotted Seals
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1969
Spruce Roost
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1970
Standing His Ground
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1981
Stoowu kaa
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1979
The Print Maker
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1978
Three Sea Lions
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
n.d.
Tsee Xwaa
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1972
Tsulxan Gowukan, Peace Dancer
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1971
Turn Head Owl
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1973
Willow Bull
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1977
Windfall Fisherman
R. T. Wallen
Lithograph
1974
Madrone + Mullan
Sadie Wechsler
Archival inkjet print in madrone artist's frame
2021
Mission Capistrano
Shirley M. Weekes
Acrylic on canvas
ca. 1972
Sawdust Burner
Shirley M. Weekes
Oil on canvas
1967
Spring Daffodils
Shirley M. Weekes
Acrylic on canvas
ca. 1972
Storm Approaching
Val Welman
Acrylic on paper
1981
Sunday at Latona School
William Werrbach
Casein on cardboard
1971
To a Flame
Anthony White
PLA (plastic) on panel
2019
Hunger is der Beste Koch (Hunger is the Best Cook)
Myra Albert Wiggins
Platinum print
1898
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Ama-Ibi Wokoma
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Daye Wokoma
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Versa Ruff
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
Our Blood Is In These Stones: Yirim Seck
Inye Wokoma
Digital print
2016
This Is Who We Are
Inye Wokoma
Two-channel digital video (color, sound): 16:13 min.
2016
Harbor Seals, Glacier Bay
Art Wolfe
Color photograph
1979
Frank in the 3rd Dimension
Jim Woodring
3-D digital video (color, silent); 5:15 min.
2015
Sketch for The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #3
Jim Woodring
Pencil and acrylic ink on paper
2016
The Pig Went Down to the Harbor and Wept #6
Jim Woodring
Acrylic ink on paper
2016
Untitled
Ko Kirk Yamahira
Acrylic and graphite on partially unwoven canvas with wood
2019
Occasional Poems
Maged Zaher
Text installation
2015
Five Capital Punishments in China: Drawing and Quartering
Zhi Lin
Acrylic and silkscreen over charcoal underdrawing on canvas with cotton curtain and ribbons
2007
'Tis not so Bad A World
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on glass
1909
A Star is Born
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on canvas
ca. 1958
Alaska Native
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Drypoint
n.d.
Alaska Sentinels
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on burlap
1923
Alaskan Family
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on canvas
ca. 1935
Alaskan Girl
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Drypoint
n.d.
Assessment Work
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on canvas on illustration board
n.d.
Cabin at Mt. Index
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on cardboard
n.d.
Canoe on Lake
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on glass
1909
Copper River Native
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on board
n.d.
Crucifixion
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Etching and drypoint
n.d.
Death's a Good Fellow
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on glass
1909
Eskimo Woman, Lower Kuskokwim
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Oil on canvas
ca. 1943
Fishermen Hauling Nets
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Drypoint
n.d.
Head of Christ
Eustace Paul Ziegler
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1949