Northwest School (art)
Encyclopedia
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
based in small-town Skagit County, Washington
Skagit County, Washington
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Skagit Indian tribe. As of 2010, the population was 116,901. It is included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and was at its peak in the 1930s and 1940s.
The big four
The movement's early participants, and its defining artists, have become known as "the big four": Guy AndersonGuy Anderson
Guy Anderson , born in Edmonds, Washington, was an American Abstract Expressionism painter. Along with Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, Anderson was identified in a Life Magazine article as one of the "northwest mystics," also known as the Northwest School.-Early...
, Kenneth Callahan
Kenneth Callahan
Kenneth Callahan was a noted 20th century Abstract Expressionism painter, art critic curator, and a founder of the Northwest School....
, Morris Graves
Morris Graves
Morris Cole Graves was an American expressionist painter. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, he founded the Northwest School. Graves was also a mystic.-Early years:...
and Mark Tobey
Mark Tobey
Mark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
. Their work became recognized nationally when LIFE
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
magazine published a 1953 feature article on them. It was the first such broad recognition of artists from this corner of the world beyond traditional Northwest Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
art forms, which had been long recognized as "northwest art."
These artists combined natural elements of the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
area with traditional Asian aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
to create a novel and distinct regional style, particularly in painting and sculpture, with some drawing, printmaking and photography. Tobey, Callahan, Graves and Anderson were all immersed in and greatly influenced by the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
environment.
Seattle was a common locale which they all shared at points in their lives, and some of them were closely associated for a time with the Seattle Art Museum in Volunteer Park. Over time, the influence of the natural setting of Western Washington
Western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
, especially the flat lands, meandering river channels, and wide open skies of the Skagit Valley
Skagit Valley
The Skagit Valley lies in the northwestern corner of the state of Washington, USA. Its defining feature is the Skagit River, which snakes through local communities which include the seat of Skagit County, Mount Vernon, as well as Sedro-Woolley, Concrete, Lyman-Hamilton, and Burlington.The local...
, became a unifying aspect of their art.
The media most commonly used by the painters in this group of artists were tempera
Tempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
, oil
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
and gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
on canvas. They also used these media on paper and wood. Morris Graves worked for periods in three dimensional forms, using steel and glass and stone, among other materials. Guy Anderson, whose main medium was oil painting, also made works from bronze and had "collages" around his home of found objects from beach walks and deteriorating metal which he saw beauty in. These forms influenced his painting.
Style
The style of the Northwest School is characterized by the use of symbols of the nature of Western Washington, as well as the diffuse lighting characteristic of the Skagit Valley area. The lighting and choice of earthy tonal ranges in the color is one of the most important qualities of Northwest art. Tobey, whose artwork did not include as much natural Northwest subject matter, is identified as Northwest style because of the soft pastelPastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
colors which he used, and the dark mist chroma
Chroma
Chroma, the Greek word for color, may refer to:* Colorfulness or chroma, the perceived intensity of a specific color* Chrominance or chroma, one of the two components of a television signal* Chroma, a measure of color purity in the Munsell color system...
of lighting, with few stark shadows.
The Northwest artists were labeled as mystics
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, although some forcefully denied this label. They denied being a "school" of art, but they did know one another. Callahan hosted salons in which the others participated. Anderson and Graves travelled together and painted in the North Cascades and elsewhere.
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dealers such as Zoe Dusanne, Gordon Woodside and John Braseth of the Woodside/Braseth Gallery as well as museum professionals grouped the four artists together, as did journalists. Their styles showed unifying themes that suggested something unique and previously unseen from a far corner of the planet. A review of the titles of some of the paintings leads to spiritual interpretations of northwest life.
In addition to the local natural setting and the Asian influence, the Northwest School also shows some influence from surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
and abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
. The cubist influence is shown to some extent in Kenneth Callahan’s Prism and the Dark Globe (1946) and Tobey’s Western Town (1944). All these artists both loved the pacific northwest and were keenly aware of the larger world of which it was part. Their work was recognized for being both essentially northwest and far from provincial.
Many younger artists around the Pacific Northwest found resonance in how qualities of the region seemed so strongly evident while something universal also glowed in these earlier artists' works. Influences and inspirations traceable to these earlier painters can be seen in work by many contemporary artists. One notable example would be Jay Steensma, who died in 1997. He left numerous moody, misty, "northwesty" paintings-some of them titled with admiring reference to Anderson, Tobey, Graves, and Helmi Juvonen
Helmi Juvonen
Helmi Dagmar Juvonen was an American artist active in Seattle, Washington. She is associated with the artists of the Northwest School .-Background:...
.
The works of artists such as photographer Mary Randlett and sculptor Tony Angell
Tony Angell
Tony Angell is a figure in both the Seattle art scene and the Puget Sound environmental scene. His life’s work encourages aesthetic beauty and unflinching natural integrity, be it through artwork, publications, advocacy, or illustration...
relate strongly to the Northwest School. Angell’s sculpture often incorporates birds, as did Washington’s, Gilkey’s and McCracken’s work. The flowing and silhouette style of Angell’s work closely ties it to McCracken’s sculpture. Randlett takes black and white photographs of northwest landscapes that often have wonderfully painterly qualities.
Museums and Galleries
The Museum of Northwest ArtMuseum of Northwest Art
The Museum of Northwest Art is an art museum located in La Conner, Washington, and is focused on the Northwest School art movement, which had its peak in the mid-20th century. The Museum was founded by Art Hupy in 1981....
in La Conner, Washington
La Conner, Washington
La Conner is a town in Skagit County, Washington, United States with a population of 891 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the month of April, the town annually hosts the majority of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival...
is dedicated to the works of the original artists of the Northwest School and their successors.
The Gordon Woodside/John Braseth Gallery has been and continues to be committed to the representation of several of the Northwest Masters such as Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan and William Ivey just to name a few
List of Northwest School artists
- Alfred Currier
- Guy AndersonGuy AndersonGuy Anderson , born in Edmonds, Washington, was an American Abstract Expressionism painter. Along with Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, Anderson was identified in a Life Magazine article as one of the "northwest mystics," also known as the Northwest School.-Early...
- Kenneth CallahanKenneth CallahanKenneth Callahan was a noted 20th century Abstract Expressionism painter, art critic curator, and a founder of the Northwest School....
- Doris Totten ChaseDoris Totten ChaseDoris Totten Chase was a painter, teacher, and sculptor, but is best remembered for pioneering in the production of key works in the history of video art. She was a member of the Northwest School .-Sensual Light:...
- William CummingWilliam Cumming (artist)William "Bill" Cumming is a noted 20th century artist and a founder of the Northwest School....
- Richard Gilkey
- Morris GravesMorris GravesMorris Cole Graves was an American expressionist painter. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, he founded the Northwest School. Graves was also a mystic.-Early years:...
- Paul HoriuchiPaul HoriuchiPaul Horiuchi was an acclaimed artist born in Japan who immigrated to the Pacific North West.Horiuchi's worked in both painting and collage.Honors received** 1968 awarded honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by the University of Puget Sound....
- Walter Isaacs
- Clayton James
- William Ivey
- Helmi JuvonenHelmi JuvonenHelmi Dagmar Juvonen was an American artist active in Seattle, Washington. She is associated with the artists of the Northwest School .-Background:...
- Leo Kenney
- John Franklin Koenig
- Philip McCrackenPhilip McCrackenPhil McCracken is an American visual artist, who works mainly in sculpture. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1953, having interrupted his studies to serve as an army reservist for the Korean War. He then studied for a time under Henry Moore in England...
- Neil Meitzler
- Carl Morris
- Hilda Morris
- Ambrose Patterson
- Mary Randlett
- Jay Steensma
- Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
- George TsutakawaGeorge TsutakawaGeorge Tsutakawa , sculptor and painter, was born in Seattle, Washington. Tsutakawa spent much of his childhood in Okayama, Japan. He returned to Seattle at the age of 16, where he attended Broadway High School before earning a BFA at the University of Washington. One of his early mentors was...
- Windsor UtleyWindsor UtleyWindsor Utley was an American musician, artist, teacher and gallery owner, closely associated with the painter Mark Tobey.Utley was born in Laguna, California in 1920...
- James Washington, Jr.
- Wesley WehrWesley C. WehrWesley Conrad Wehr was an American paleontologist and artist best known for his studies of Tertiary fossil floras in western North America, the Stonerose Interpretive Center, and as a part of the Northwest School of art.-Early life:...
Further reading
- Conkelton, Sheryl, What It Meant to be Modern: Seattle Art at Mid-Century, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, 1999. ISBN 0-935558-38-1.
- Conkelton, Sheryl, and Landau, Laura, Northwest Mythologies: The Interactions of Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Guy Anderson, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma WA; University of Washington Press, Seattle and London 2003
- Cumming, William, Sketchbook: A Memoir of the 1930s And the Northwest School, University of Washington Press, 1984. ISBN 0-295-96156-2.
- Kingsbury, Martha, Art of the Thirties: The Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Press for Henry Art Gallery, Seattle and London 1972. ISBN 0-295-95215-6.
- Wehr, Wesley, The Accidental Collector: Art, Fossils & Friendships, University of Washington Press, 2004. ISBN 0-295-98382-5.