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
Mrs. Greathouse
Gerry Abbott
Mixed media on board
1975
Camano Crossing
Perry Acker
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1950-65
Dona Rosa
Perry Acker
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1976
Dreaming of Springtime
Perry Acker
Oil on illustration board
1981
Garden
Kathleen Gemberling Adkison
Oil on linen
1960
Dog Sled with Musher
George Ahgupuk
Pen and ink on paper
n.d.
Dogs in Camp
George Ahgupuk
Pen and ink on paper
n.d.
Eskimo Cache
George Ahgupuk
Ink on deer hide
n.d.
Reindeer Herd
George Ahgupuk
Pencil and ink on paper
n.d.
Seal Hunters
George Ahgupuk
Ink on caribou skin
n.d.
Bird Sanctuary
Lorraine Airey
Oil on linen
ca. 1970
Northern Scene
Jack Alger
Oil on cardboard
1958
Saddlebacked
Norman C. Amundsen
Watercolor on paper
1962
Raven Watchers
Tony Angell
Steatite (soapstone)
1984
Untitled (Badlands)
Juventino Aranda
Oil on wool Pendleton blanket
2018
Pueblo Girl
Shirley Arrants
Pastel on velvet
ca. 1982
Spring Beauty
Win Bainbridge
Watercolor on paper
1987
Bamboo No.24
Gayle Bard
Letterpress and lithograph
1994
History Lesson
Bo Bartlett
Oil on canvas
2002
Black River Quarry
R.A. Benson
Watercolor on paper
1985
Winter in South Bend
R.A. Benson
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1983
Specular Reflections
Leo Berk
Glass, black pond dye
2015
Wind Jangle
Leo Berk
Aluminum, fishing line, weights
2015
Bamboo No.8
Jeffrey Bishop
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Portrait of Eustace Ziegler
Dorothy Blackstock
Oil on canvas
1968
Bamboo No.9
Mare Blocker
Letterpress and linocut
1994
Mission at Cuernavaca
Harry Bonath
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1966
Gloaming
Gudrun Brask
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1963
Great Notions
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1990
Stereoscopic Viewer
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1995
The Changeling
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1980
The Three Graces
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1988
Chemically Tanned
Alison Bremner
Latex paint on deer hide with horsehair
2017
Landscape #7
Matt Browning
Tree sap on handmade wood panel
2012
Tradition as Adaptive Strategy
Matt Browning
Tree sap and carved wood
2010
Bouquet in Frye Shortening Pail
Marjorie Bruce
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1978
Eidolon
Cris Bruch
Aluminum composite
2015
Emollients: Ingram's, Marinello's, Purola, Velvatone
Cris Bruch
Blown glass
2016
Minus Tide - Point No Point
Rudolph Bundas
Watercolor on paper
1989
Vegetables & Pear
Rudolph Bundas
Watercolor on paper
1972
Denali
Julius Burgert
Oil on canvas
1990
Rye Grass
Mike Burns
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1970
Ecdysis
Ishmael Butler
Audio, 24:51 min.
2015
Untitled
Mark Calderon
Book spine repair tape
2012
Tacoma Smelter
Jess Dan Cauthorn
Watercolor on illustration board
1964
Bamboo No.15
George Chacona
Letterpress and print
1994
Blue Still Life
Betty Charouhas
Mixed media on paper
ca. 1963
Landscape
Doris Totten Chase
Oil on Masonite
ca. 1964
The Trees
Doris Totten Chase
Oil on Masonite
1958