January 15th, 2010
Northwest Art in Tacoma, Washington
As an art admirer, I admit I’m often stuck in European impressionism with the likes of Van Gogh, Seurat and Monet, and after living in the Southwest for many years I had my fill of paintings and tiny sculptures of horsese and cowboys that used to be fairly prevalent in Arizona galleries; but, I also lived in the Northwest, too, and I can’t tell you why that — if I considered Southwest Art as a form — I rarely considered Northwest Art. However, if you find yourself in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington, you’ll be able to investigate this particular form at the Tacoma Art Museum through May 23rd of 2010.
Fiction writers often draw from the land in which they live to create their stories; the same must be true of artists, drawing from the regions in which they create their art. In “A Concise History of Northwest Art,” you’ll find examples of work from the museum’s permanent collection and ranging from the middle of the 19th Century to modern day, culled froms tates such as Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and even outside the states, with art from British Columbia. You’ll find also examples of Northwest impressionism, a category new to me, but ties in with the art I truly appreciate. Until October of 2010, you may see at the Tacoma Art Museum, exhibits of Degas, Renoir, and Pissarro. Even Whistler and Cassatt will be on display as the museum traces the influence of impressionism into the Northwest itself.
It’s enough to make me consider traveling back to my old home state, check into a luxury hotel Washington state provides its visitors and take a tour of this museum. Certainly, there’s some amazing hotels in the city, such as the 1908 Sorrento Hotel or The Edgewater, the only hotel in Seattle to be located on a pier in Elliott Bay. It seems like a perfect day to go take a look at some fine art and then retire to the pier and watch the sunset over the bay and Puget Sound, watching the light play over the snow on the Olympic Mountains.