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
Bamboo No.6
T. Michael Gardiner
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Near Spring
Ed Giecek
Watercolor on paper
1986
Alyeska Mother
Lunda Hoyle Gill
Oil on linen
n.d.
Roger
Lunda Hoyle Gill
Oil on linen
ca. 1970-80
Indian Girl
Del Gish
Charcoal on paper
1950s-1960s
Portrait of Mrs. Greathouse
Del Gish
Oil on linen
2004
Sketch of Mrs. Greathouse
Del Gish
Charcoal on paper
2004
Sketch of Mrs. Greathouse
Del Gish
Oil on board
2004
Still Life with Lilacs
Del Gish
Oil on linen
1950s-1960s
Young Girl
Del Gish
Charcoal on illustration board
1950s-1960s
Arizona Indians
Gerald Grace
Oil on Masonite
ca. 1950
Chow
Gerald Grace
Oil on linen
ca. 1950
El Toro (The Bull)
Gerald Grace
Pastel on paper
n.d.
Ennui
Gerald Grace
Oil on linen
1950
Outside the Winery
Gerald Grace
Oil on paper
1965
Potato Harvesters
Gerald Grace
Oil on paperboard
1965
Remembered Place
Gerald Grace
Oil on linen
n.d.
Spanish Spring
Gerald Grace
Oil on canvas
1965
Passing Storm
Marie Elise Gray
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1972
Poppies
Margie H. Griffin
Oil on linen
ca. 1965
Bamboo No.13
Jose Rodriguez Guerra
Letterpress and lithograph
1994
Arc du Louvre
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1925
Derricks, Lake Union
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1927
Eton Cloisters
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1925
Ex Libris: ~Universe~
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1912
Ex Libris: ~Western Forest~
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1912
Forest Road
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1928
Lake Union
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1928
Lake Union, The Willow
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1928
Last Port, Lake Union
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1927
Little Boats, Lake Union
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1927
Little Brittany Farm
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1924
Little Churches of the Strand
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1925
Long Ago (Vancouver Island)
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1921
Luynes, France
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1924
Palermo
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1924
Pioneer Square
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1912
Rainier From the Southwest
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1928
Sand Bucket, Lake Union
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1928
Second Avenue, Seattle
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1912
Sicily
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1924
The Fir Tree
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
ca. 1911
Traffiagat, Bretagne
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1929
Twilight (Anchorage, Salmon Bay)
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1911
Venetian Palaces
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1924
Waterfront, Seattle
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1911
Whidbey Tree
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1917