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
Potting Shed, Swanson's
David Checkley
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1965
Bamboo No.12
C.T. Chew
Letterpress and print
1994
Ear (Good)
Srijon Chowdhury
Oil on linen
2022
Cloud Reflections on Puget Sound
Robert Connell
Sumi ink and gouache on paper
1993
Carnation Farm
Larry Countryman
Watercolor, ink, and oil wash on paper
ca. 1972
Bamboo No.4
Mrs. Crispwick
Letterpress and lithograph
1993
Eclipse Tower 1
Web Crowell and Stacey Levine
Digital video of stop-motion animation (color, sound); 3:43 min.
2015
Moonlight Night
Edna Wilder Cryan
Lithograph
1985
Harlequin Woman
William Cumming
Tempera on board
1955
Poet at Big Sur
William Cumming
Tempera on board
1980
Two Girls
William Cumming
Oil on Masonite
1960
Home of a Sourdough - Near the Copper River Valley, Near Cordova
Jules Dahlager
Oil on canvas on illustration board
1949
Chest Harp 1
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Steel, guitar strings
2006
Chest Harp 2
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Steel, guitar strings
2006
Cuckoo Crow: Hatchling
Degenerate Art Ensemble
DVD video (color, silent); 14:44 min.
2007
Cuckoo Crow: Transformation
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Digital video (color, sound); 7:14 min.
2011
Deerlegs
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Wood, steel, rubber, PVC pipe, cable, microphone, transmitter
2007
Panthrastic Harp Zither
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Steel, wood, harp strings, antique instrument parts
2005
Untitled (Nail Harp)
Degenerate Art Ensemble
Steel, wood, guitar strings, nails
2005
Bamboo No.17
Lockwood Dennis
Letterpress and woodcut
1994
Looking West on First Hill
Leon Derbyshire
Oil on linen
ca. 1938, finished 1974
Portrait of Nelson Puckett
Leon Derbyshire
Oil on linen
1948
Still Life with Tulips
Leon Derbyshire
Oil on linen
1940
Wild Daisies
Jack Dorsey
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1979
Chrysanthemums with Paper
Earl Dudgeon
Gouache on canvas board
1965
Weed Bouquet
Earl Dudgeon
Oil on linen mounted on Masonite
ca. 1965
Confidence
Sydney K. Eaton
Oil on linen
ca. 1965
Rehearsal
Sydney K. Eaton
Oil on linen
ca. 1960
Don Quixote Enthroned
Jacob Alexander Elshin
Oil on Masonite
1965
West Seattle Beacon
Jean Elshin Erickson
Oil on canvas
n.d.
Bamboo No.7
Dennis Evans
Letterpress and print
1993
Inside the Tent
Claire Fejes
Oil on canvas
ca. 1976
Kahhoaruk of Noatak
Claire Fejes
Watercolor on paper
1963
Sewing Mukluks
Claire Fejes
Etching
n.d.
Splitting Walrus Hide at St. Lawrence Island
Claire Fejes
Oil on linen
1973
Celestial Carpenter
Jack Fellows
Acrylic on Masonite
n.d.
Seine Man
Jack Fellows
Mixed media on panel
1968
Landscape with Chad
Anne Fenton
Color photograph
2012
Rock vs. Heather
Michael Ferguson
Acrylic on canvas
ca. 1987-88
Be the First To Review The B83
Steve Fisk
Four-channel audio installation
2015
Hooverville
Edmond J. Fitzgerald
Watercolor on paper
1939
March Sunlight in Hogan's Alley
Edmond J. Fitzgerald
Watercolor on paper
n.d.
Sheldrake Pond
Edmond J. Fitzgerald
Watercolor on paper
ca. 1950
Get up!
Anne Focke
Letterpress
2013
Flowers in a Vase
J. Edgar Forkner
Watercolor on paper
1920s
Karla Kay Keeley
Ray Fullmer
Oil on canvas
ca. 1952-57
Tom Neighbors
Ray Fullmer
Oil on linen mounted on Masonite
ca. 1972
Lacers
William L. Gannon
Oil on Masonite
1967
RFD Wagon
William L. Gannon
Oil on illustration board
1967
Street Cleaner
William L. Gannon
Gouache on mat board
1967