Contemporary Art
Loosely defined as the art of today or the art of our lifetime, the term “contemporary art” is usually used more specifically to describe artworks created since the 1980s or 1990s. For collection purposes, the Frye Art Museum currently delineates the scope as 1990 to the present.
In the more general sense, the Frye has collected and exhibited contemporary—or contemporaneous—art since its opening in 1952. This commitment to the art and culture of the present was catalyzed by Museum founders Charles and Emma Frye, who amassed a collection of paintings made within their own lifetimes and often purchased works directly from living artists. Over the last seven decades, directors of the Museum have each brought their own interests and interpretations to bear on the Frye’s engagement with contemporary art and thereby shaped a distinctive collection.
Prior to the tenure of Elsa “Midge” Bowman (Director, 2004–09), and often counter to dominant trends in art of the time, the Frye’s leadership focused exclusively on exhibiting and collecting representational art, citing Charles and Emma Frye’s preferences for figurative and landscape painting. Under Bowman’s direction, the exhibitions program at the Frye expanded into areas like video art and performance that questioned and upended the definition of representational art. In 2008, the Museum’s mission was revised to embrace art in its myriad forms. The Frye’s contemporary art collection has grown significantly since that time, reflecting the diversity of the institution’s engagement with local, national, and international artists working today.
by Artist
by Artist
by Year
by Object Type
Bamboo No.16
Julie Paschkis
Letterpress and linocut
1994
Bamboo No.11
Mauricio Robalino
Letterpress and print
1994
Instead of Going Forward, Going Back
Robert Schwartz
Gouache on paper
1994
Bamboo No.21
Michael Spafford
Letterpress and woodcut
1994
Bamboo No.19
Rebecca Struck
Letterpress and print
1994
Bamboo No.23
George Tsutakawa
Letterpress and Sumi ink
1994
Seer
Ruth Weisberg
Monotype
1994
La Clairière (The Meadow)
Richard C. Whitten
Oil and copper leaf on panel
1994
Still Life with Kumquats
James Aponovich
Oil on canvas
1993
Bamboo No.8
Jeffrey Bishop
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Cloud Reflections on Puget Sound
Robert Connell
Sumi ink and gouache on paper
1993
Bamboo No.4
Mrs. Crispwick
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Bamboo No.7
Dennis Evans
Letterpress and print
1993
Cherry Pie
George Fischer
Oil on canvas
1993
Bamboo No.6
T. Michael Gardiner
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Bamboo No.2
Jimmy Jet
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Hercules at the Crossroads
David Ligare
Oil on linen
1993
Bamboo No.3
Gene Gentry McMahon
Letterpress and woodcut
1993
Bamboo No.1
Peter Millett
Letterpress and woodcut
1993
Bear Icon
Leslie Morgan
Oil and copper leaf on linen
1993
Bamboo No.5
Scott Smith
Letterpress and woodcut
1993
Ogle's Samovar
Take Hama
Oil on cotton
ca. 1992
Mann bitt av en slange (Man Bitten by a Snake)
Odd Nerdrum
Oil on canvas
ca. 1992-93
Prayer Before the Night
Henk Pander
Oil on linen
1992
Blue-Eyed Susan
Andrew Wyeth
Pencil on paper
1992
World of Wonders
Stephen Fisher
Graphite on paper
1991
Persian Peace
Connie Hertner
Watercolor on paper
1991
Four Workers
John McIver
Acrylic on paper
1991
Basket of Flowers - Summer '91
Rosalyn Gale Powell
Oil on canvas
1991
Pumpkin People
Jamie Wyeth
Oil on panel
1991
Great Notions
Byron Bratt
Mezzotint and acrylic wash
1990
Wild Rose Lard
Lucille Hulburt
Watercolor on paper
1990
Halibut Cove
Ted Rand
Watercolor on paper
1990
Love Cyclamen
Marilyn Schutzky
Watercolor on paper
1990
Windy Day
Peter Sculthorpe
Watercolor on paper
1990
Window Installation
Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013
Painted Silhouette
Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013
Street Action
Buster Simpson
Archival inkjet print in artist-made frame
1974/2013
Allegory of the Raging Sun
Kat Lyons
Oil on canvas
2021
Mangahufo' I famaguon
Gisela McDaniel
Oil on panel, found object, sound
2021
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