• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

354 results for: Visual Arts

Share:
Image of Miniature portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Cookingham's son by Gertrude Willison, ca. 1907

Miniature portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Cookingham's son by Gertrude Willison, ca. 1907

This miniature portrait was painted on ivory. The artist, Gertrude Willison (1873-1967), was born in Indiana but her family moved to Washington and her father was one of the framers of the state's constitution. Her first art instruction was under Harriett Foster Beecher followed by further study at the Mark Hopkins Institute. For three years she had a studio in…
ID Number:1960.2055.3
Date:Circa 1907
Image of Painting of Victory Square in Seattle, ca. 1949

Painting of Victory Square in Seattle, ca. 1949

Victory Square was located on University Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues in front of the Olympic Hotel, and was the center of World War II rallies, bond drives, and a monument that lists the names of Washington state citizens who lost their lives during the war. Nothing of the Square remains as the monument was torn down in 1949,…
ID Number:1960.2087
Date:Circa 1949
Image of Painting of Mt. Rainier by Annie M. Nelson, ca. 1900-1920

Painting of Mt. Rainier by Annie M. Nelson, ca. 1900-1920

The Nelson family, including son Carl immigrated from Denmark and homesteaded in 1877 in what is now downtown Kirkland, Washington. Carl became a dentist and eventually met and married Annie (Matthews) Nelson in 1889, and they had a son Stanley. A note from the donor states that her aunt Annie painted this landscape from a photograph given to the Nelson…
ID Number:1961.2335
Date:Circa 1900-1920
Image of Drawing of USS Decatur,

Drawing of USS Decatur, "Seattle-1855," by Hewitt Jackson, ca. 1961

Hewitt Jackson (1914-2007) was a seaman, marine draftsman, and artist. He is best known for his maritime drawings of ships that sailed the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest. The MOHAI collection contains seven of Hewitt's works. This particular drawing features the USS Decatur which was an armed vessel anchored in Elliott Bay during the "Battle of Seattle" that took place…
ID Number:1961.2441.1
Date:1961
Image of Oil portrait of Charles F. Clise by Charles J. Fox, ca. 1957

Oil portrait of Charles F. Clise by Charles J. Fox, ca. 1957

The Clise family have strong roots in Seattle with JW Clise arriving in this area in 1899, one day after the Great Seattle Fire. Clise helped rebuild the city after that devastation and Clise Properties flourished and Charles Clise continued that legacy. The artist signature, CJ (Charles J.) Fox, was an alias for Leo Fox, a New York artist who,…
ID Number:1962.2613
Date:Circa 1957
Image of Painting,

Painting, "'Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow' Metropolitan Theater (interior), Seattle, Wa." by Robert Fetterly, 1961

Metropolitan Theatre opened in 1911 on University Street in Seattle and featured both live theater and movies. This painting, which won first prize in 1961 in the Changing Scenes in Seattle Art Show, depicts the ceiling and balcony boxes at the time the theatre was being torn down. The artist, Robert Fetterly (1920-2009), worked for Boeing, The Bon Marché, and…
ID Number:1963.2967
Date:1961
Image of Painted portrait,

Painted portrait, "The Artist's Mother," by Louise Crow, 1920-1925

Louise Crow Boyac (1891 – 1968) was born and raised in Seattle, a member of the Moran family. Crow achieved recognition for her Impressionistic landscape and figure paintings. Crow studied with Paul Gustin, Frank Duveneck, Rene Menard, and William M. Chase, winning an award of excellence in the latter’s important class in California. Widely recognized for the brilliance of her…
ID Number:1963.3055
Date:1920-1925
Image of Painting by Thomas Wells of the Space Needle and surrounding neighborhood during the construction of the Seattle World's Fair, 1962

Painting by Thomas Wells of the Space Needle and surrounding neighborhood during the construction of the Seattle World's Fair, 1962

The artist Thomas Wells (1916 – 2003) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a member of the Marine Historical Societies of Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and New York, and a life member of the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters. The theme of the Seattle World's Fair, Century 21, was inspired by the promise of a new age.…
ID Number:1963.3119.6
Date:1962
Image of Painting by Jess Cauthorn of a bird's-eye panoramic view of the Seattle World's Fair, 1962

Painting by Jess Cauthorn of a bird's-eye panoramic view of the Seattle World's Fair, 1962

Artist Jess Cauthorn (1923-2005), born in Seattle was originally a student, and then became the owner and taught at the Burnley School of Professional Art in Seattle. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society, Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters, and the Northwest Watercolor Society. This brightly colored piece charmingly illustrates the Seattle World's Fair grounds.
ID Number:1963.3119.7
Date:1962
Image of Oil painting,

Oil painting, "Scraping and Painting" or "Chipping Rust," part of "Men Who Work the Ships" mural by Kenneth Callahan, 1936

Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted…
ID Number:1963.3128.1
Date:1936
Previous 1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 36 Next

Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved