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
Stalking the Seal
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1962
Taking the Sun
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1965
Tender Arctic
Fred Machetanz
Oil on Masonite
1973
The Good Life
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1964
The Grass is Always Greener
Fred Machetanz
Oil on Masonite
1988
The Hunt
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1947
The Invaders
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1973
The Ivory Carver
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1968
The Stalk
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1977
The Tender Arctic
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1976
The Whale Hunt
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1966
Time for a Rest
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1978
Tomcod Fisher
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1948
Trailmates
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1948
Waiting for the Whale
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1970
What's Up
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1964
Wilderness Home
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1952
Winter Preparation
Fred Machetanz
Lithograph
1960
Blue Wave
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on cardboard
n.d.
Dry Falls
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Fishermen's Wharf
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on board
n.d.
Home in the Woods
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on cardboard
n.d.
Market at Guadalupe
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island, WA
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
1950
Ocean Harbor
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on Masonite
n.d.
Oriental Street
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
1969
Seattle Waterway
Fred B. Marshall
Oil on canvas on illustration board
n.d.
Seattle Wharf
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on cardboard
n.d.
Six Man Combo
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1953
Tow Ahead
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on cardboard
n.d.
Tug Haven
Fred B. Marshall
Acrylic on cardboard
n.d.
Washington Coast Oyster Dock
Fred B. Marshall
Watercolor on paper
1962
Clam Chowder
May Warner Marshall
Acrylic on canvas
1975
Driftwood, La Push
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1953
Indian Horses at Sekiu, Washington
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Late Afternoon
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1953
Mexican Bread Boy
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
The Journey
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
1935
The Race
May Warner Marshall
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Shirley Poppies
Ella McBride
Gelatin silver print
ca. 1924
Idaho Sky
Lois McFarland
Oil on board
ca. 1985
Mujer de San Miguel (San Miguel Woman)
Lois McFarland
Oil on cotton
ca. 1979
Self-Portrait
David McGranaghan
Oil on cotton
1984
Bamboo No.3
Gene Gentry McMahon
Letterpress and woodcut
1993
Bamboo No.26
Nancy Mee
Letterpress and print
1994
Clayoquot Dugouts
Jean-Claude Michel
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1994
Thaw
Nina Mikhailenko
Oil on canvas
ca. 1988
Shadowmaker
Anne Miletich-Warder
Watercolor and collage on paper
1991
Portrait of a Man
Stan Miller
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Bamboo No.1
Peter Millett
Letterpress and woodcut
1993