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
York
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1925
York Butcherman
Paul Morgan Gustin
Etching
1925
Bamboo No.22
Karen Guzak
Letterpress and print
1994
Ogle's Samovar
Take Hama
Oil on cotton
ca. 1992
Summer Fest
Take Hama
Acrylic on canvas
ca.1992
December 25
George Hamilton
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1971
An Agnostic Manifesto
Lesley Hazleton
Text installation
2015
North Slope #15, Kuparuk
Mary Henry
Colored pencil on paper
1975
Persian Peace
Connie Hertner
Watercolor on paper
1991
Alaska Cabin & Cache
Magnus Colcord Heurlin
Oil on linen
n.d.
Arctic Scene
Magnus Colcord Heurlin
Oil on linen
ca. 1950
Skin Boat Whaling
Magnus Colcord Heurlin
Oil on cotton
1954
Beltway Apocalypse
David Horsey
Graphite, pen, and ink on illustration board
1998
Curse You, Peter Pan...!
David Horsey
Graphite, pen, and ink on illustration board
1998
David Horsey's Expanding Universe
David Horsey
Graphite, pen, ink and watercolor on illustration board
2004
We'll Always have Grenada...!
David Horsey
Graphite, pen, and ink on illustration board
1989
Marigolds
Kathleen Houlahan
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1924
Wild Rose Lard
Lucille Hulburt
Watercolor on paper
1990
Girl in Black
Roland Hurd
Casein on Masonite
1962
Daisies in a Round Bowl
Paul Immel
Watercolor on paper
1940-45
White Shasta Daisies
Paul Immel
Watercolor on paper
1940-45
The Dorothy K: Bow Dress
Implied Violence
Silk, satin, lace, steel ring, and cable
2010
The Dorothy K: Large Claw
Implied Violence
Cardboard, wood, wire, rope, LED lights
2010
The Dorothy K: Small Ether Machine
Implied Violence
Wood, cloth, felt, glass, metal, plastic, twine
2010
Avatar: Fanon & Decca
C. Davida Ingram
Digital video (color, sound); 19:23 min.
2015
Zephyr
Joseph Ireland
Watercolor on paper
1974
Untitled
Julian E. Itter
Oil on canvas
ca. 1898
Ballard Bricks
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Beached
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1970
Captain's House, Mendocino California
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Crowned Heads, Ferndale, California
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Ocean Harvest, Hoh River's Mouth, Pacific Ocean
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Old House at Oysterville, Washington
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1950s-1960s
Road to Knowledge
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Sagebrush Dropout (Eastern Oregon)
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Shoreline Drapes
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1977
Swinomish Slough (LaConner, Washington)
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
1950s
The Last Port, Clam Bay, Kuper Island, B.C.
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Ucluelet Village
Arne Rudolph Jensen
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1966
The Graduate
Dorothy Dolph Jensen
Oil on canvas board
ca. 1932
Bamboo No.2
Jimmy Jet
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
San Juan Run
Marshall Johnson
Oil on canvas
n.d.
Bamboo No.20
Fay Jones
Letterpress and lithograph
1994
Christmas Window: House in Avon, Ohio
Thomas William Jones
Watercolor on paper
1986
Chief Seattle
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen
Linocut
1950s
Farmer's Market - A Tobey Troll
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen
Linocut
ca. 1955-56
Girl Under Mistletoe
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen
Linocut
after 1960
Imaginative Perception
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen
Linocut
1933-34
Makah Thunderbird
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen
Linocut
1939-40