Painter Mark Tobey moved to Seattle in 1923 when he was hired to start the art department at the Cornish School, now Cornish College of the Arts. He gained national recognition as one of the "Northwest Mystics" along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan and Morris Graves, due to a September 28, 1953 Life magazine article on the Northwest School entitled "Mystic Painters of the Northwest." International fame arrived in 1959 when he became the first American since James McNeill Whistler to win first prize at the Venice Biennale. Tobey kept a studio in Seattle until the late 1960s even while traveling and living abroad.

This photo was taken by photographer Josef Scaylea (1913-2004), who worked for 35 years as chief photographer for the Seattle Times, winning over 1000 awards for his photographs highlighting the scenery and people in the Pacific Northwest. He donated a collection of his photographs and photography equipment to MOHAI in 1993.

Handwritten on image: Josef Scaylea.
Handwritten on verso: Mark Tobey, Famous Seattle artist, 1953.