The Northwest School was an American art movement established in the Seattle area.

The Big Four

The movement's early participants, and its defining artists, have become known as "the big four": Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves and Mark Tobey. Their work became recognized nationally from LIFE magazine's 1953 article Mystic Painters of the Northwest,

The works of artists such as photographer Mary Randlett and sculptor Tony Angell 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 took black and white photographs of northwest landscapes that often have wonderfully painterly qualities.

The Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington is dedicated to the works of the original artists of the Northwest School and their successors.

Notable people

;Big Four

  • Guy Anderson
  • Paul Horiuchi (1906–1999)
  • Clayton James (1918–2016)
  • William Ivey (1919–1992)
  • Helmi Juvonen (1903–1985)
  • Leo Kenney (1925–2001)
  • John Franklin Koenig (1924–2008)
  • Philip McCracken (1928–2021)
  • Neil Meitzler (1930–2009)
  • Carl Morris (1911–1993)
  • Hilda Grossman Morris (1911–1991)
  • Ambrose McCarthy Patterson (1877–1966)
  • Mary Randlett (1924–2019)
  • Jay Steensma (1941–1994)
  • George Tsutakawa (1910–1997)
  • Windsor Utley (1920–1989)
  • James W. Washington Jr. (1909–2000)
  • Wesley Wehr (1929–2004)

References

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Ament, Deloris Tarzan, "Iridescent Light: The Emergence of Northwest Art", University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2001, .
  • 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
  • Museum of Northwest Art
  • Woodside Braseth Gallery http://www.woodsidebrasethgallery.com/