354 results for: Visual Arts
Miniature portrait of Lillian Bell Whittlesey by Ella Shepard Bush, 1913
Lillian Bell Whittlesey (1861-1913) was a famous cultural leader of early Seattle. She taught music and was known to have a beautiful singing voice. The artist, Ella Shepherd Bush (1863-1948), was born in Illinois, studied art back East, then opened the Seattle Art School in 1894. She was a founding member of the Society of Seattle Artists, and wrote a…
ID Number:1914.1216.1
Date:1913
Watercolor painting of "A Camp on the Tide Flats," by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1897
Born in Indiana, Harriet Foster Beecher (1853-1918) traveled to the West Coast to attend the San Francisco School of Design. She moved to Seattle in 1880 and married Captain Herbert Foote Beecher. In 1881, Beecher opened what is thought to be Seattle’s first art studio. She painted Indigenous life in oils and watercolors, portraits of Seattle pioneers, and landscapes. Beecher…
ID Number:1924.709.1
Date:1897
Oil painting on copper of Dr. H. B. Bagley by Harriet Foster Beecher, 1899
Dr. Herman Beardsley Bagley (1842-1899), an operative surgery and surgical disease specialist, arrived in Seattle in 1875. In the 1880s, he was part of the Lake Washington Improvement Company and one of several men to first conceive the Lake Washington Ship Canal. H.B. Bagley became quite wealthy through real estate and owned a home at 4th Avenue and Spring Street…
ID Number:1924.709.2
Date:1899
Portrait of Thomas Mercer by Edwin Isaac Ames, ca. 1870-1900
Thomas Mercer (1813-1898) was born in Ohio and came to Seattle in 1852 with Aaron Mercer, his father, Dexter Horton, David Bagley, and William H. Showdy. His first wife died in 1853 and he remarried in 1859. He owned a dairy farm, was a probate judge for ten years, and was one of the first county commissioners. Artist Edwin Isaac…
ID Number:1946.407.b
Date:Circa 1870-1900
Painting of a shack and boats by Jessie M. Elliott, 1895
Jessie M. Elliott (1861-1950) was born in Merrimack, Wisconsin, and moved to Seattle in the late 1880s to open an art school. In addition to oil, Elliott worked in charcoal, metal, and enamels. She belonged to the Women Painters of Washington, a group founded in 1930 for fellowship, artistic stimulation, and the promotion of their members' work. Elliott was a…
ID Number:1947.437.7
Date:1895
Painting of Kikisoblu's (Princess Angeline) home, 1894
Kikisoblu (Princess Angeline), also known in Lushootseed as Kikisoblu, Kick-is-om-lo, or Wewick, was the eldest daughter of Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle). She was born around 1820 and lived until she was in her mid-seventies. The artist, Jessie M. Elliott (1861-1950), was born in Merrimack, Wisconsin, and moved to Seattle in the late 1880s to open an art school. In addition…
ID Number:1947.437.8
Date:1894
Painted still-life with fish, crab, and clams, by Jessie M. Elliott, 1895
Jessie M. Elliott (1861-1950) was born in Merrimack, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1861 and died 89 years later in Seattle. She studied art in California and moved to Seattle in the late 1880s to open an art school. In addition to oil, Elliott worked in charcoal, metal, and enamels. She belonged to Women Painters of Washington, a group founded…
ID Number:1947.437.10
Date:1895
Oil portrait of Arthur Armstrong Denny by Baron Holmfeld, 1896
In 1851, Arthur Denny, at the age of 29, led a contingent of his family west from Illinois to the Pacific Northwest, where he helped found the city of Seattle. He served as Seattle's first postmaster, was a delegate to the Washington Territorial Legislature, was one of King County's first commissioners, and he was instrumental in founding the University of…
ID Number:1948.421
Date:1896
Colored photograph of painted portrait of William Henry Seward by Herbert P. Muehlenbeck, 1867
The artist Herbert Muehlenbeck was born in Peoria, Illinois, and studied at Chicago Art Institute. He later came to Seattle and was listed in "Who's Who in Northwest Art," as well as exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum. Henry William Seward (1801-1872) was Secretary of State from 1860-1869 and was involved in the purchase of Alaska in 1867.
ID Number:1948.422
Date:1867
Portrait of Kikisoblu (Princess Angeline) by Jacob Elshin, 1940-1950
Jacob Elshin (1892 – 1976) was born in Russia but fled after the Bolsheviks took power in 1917 and settled in Seattle in 1923. He worked for the Public Works of Art Project in 1933 and his large-scale murals were prominently displayed in many local public buildings. Elshin also taught art at the Edison Technical School in Seattle. This portrait…
ID Number:1950.16
Date:Circa 1940-1950