The Frye Art Museum is a

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and contemporary

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily co ...

located in the First Hill neighborhood of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary exhibitions of emerging and contemporary artists.

History

The museum emphasizes painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present. Its holdings originated from the private collection of Charles H. Frye (1858–1940) and Emma Lamp Frye (d. 1934). The Fryes' were first generation Americans of German descentJen Graves
The Pepsi Challenge: The Henry's and the Frye's Original Collections Together for the First Time: Can You Guess Who Collected What?
'' The Stranger'', November 22, 2007, p. 29. who collected primarily German and Austrian artwork, often purchased directly from studios in Munich. Charles Frye was the owner of a local meatpacking plant in Seattle. He set aside money in his will for a museum to house the Fryes' collection of 232

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

s. The Fryes' collection was first offered to the Seattle Art Museum but it was declined due to restrictions stipulated in the will which specified that the artwork must be on permeant display, be shown under natural light, not be shown with abstract work, and that admission to view the works remain free of charge. After Charles and Emma Frye had both died and following the sale of their home in 1941, many of their collected paintings, overseen by Walser Greathouse, were moved to the meat plant on Airport Way in

SoDo, Seattle SoDo, alternatively SODO, is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, that makes up part of the city's Industrial District. It is bounded on the north by South King Street, beyond which is Pioneer Square; on the south by South Spokane Street, b ...

. The stored artwork survived a major fire at the plant on Feb. 18, 1943, following the crash of a

B-29 bomber The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

prototype, then a top secret military project. The Frye Art Museum was built in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood and opened to the public in 1952 as a free art museum.Priscilla Long
Frye Art Museum on Seattle's First Hill opens on February 8, 1952
HistoryLink, March 22, 2001. Accessed 6 December 2007. The Fryes' historic collection consisted of

representational art Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else.Mitchell, W. 1995, "Representation", in F Lentricchia & T McLaughlin (eds), ''Critical Terms for Literary Study'', 2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, Chica ...

works, with a tendency toward "the dark, the dramatic, and the psychological" rather than "the genteel". The museum's permanent collection reflects Charles Frye's relatively conservative artistic tastes, and initially, the museum continued to be dedicated to representational art, both in its acquisitions and its exhibits. This conservatism reflected the artistic and social values of its first director, Walser Greathouse (d. 1966) and of his widow and successor Ida Kay Greathouse, who ran the museum until 1993.History
Frye Art Museum. Accessed 6 December 2007. After 2007, the artwork presented and collected by the museum shifted to reflect a more venturesome spirit and came to include more diverse forms, eliciting comparisons to Seattle's

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the University District, it wa ...

Architecture

The building for the Frye Art Museum was originally designed by architect Paul Thiry. In the mid 1990s the museum was expanded and renovated by architect Rick Sundberg of

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects Olson Kundig, is an American architectural firm based in Seattle, run by architects Jim Olson and Tom Kundig. Founded by Olson in 1966, the firm’s work has grown to encompass museums, commercial and mixed-use design, exhibit design, interior de ...

. The museum added a 142-seat auditorium and an education studio as part of the renovation.

Exhibitions and programs

Exhibitions have included "Subspontaneous
Francesca Lohmann
and Rob Rhee," featuring sculptures involving natural forces and ecological growth,
Agnieszka Polska
Love Bite," and "Unsettling Femininity: Selections from the Frye Art Museum Collection." The museum often redeploys its permanent collection, experimenting with exhibiting it in different arrangements. In 2018, the museum had 109,249 total attendees and a membership base of 2,383. Contemporary artists and groups exhibited at The Frye have included the performance group

Degenerate Art Ensemble Degenerate Art Ensemble (often abbreviated DAE) is a Seattle-based multi-art performance company whose work is inspired by punk, comics, cinema, nightmares and fairy tales driven by live music and visceral movement theater and dance. The group was ...

, First Nations indigenous artist Duane Linklater, American painter Christina Quarles, and African-American filmmaker and multimedia artist

Cauleen Smith Cauleen Smith (born September 25, 1967) is an American born filmmaker and multimedia artist. She is best known for her experimental works that address the African-American identity, specifically the issues facing black women today. Smith is bes ...

. In 2020, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the museum temporarily closed for in-person visits and provided online art viewing and educational opportunities through the Frye From Home program. On August 28, 2020, the museum announced its expectation to reopen for in-person visits in October 2020.

Collection

The Frye Art Museum's collection highlights many kinds of paintings, prints, works on paper, and sculptures. Artists represented in the museum's collection include

Eugène Boudin Eugène Louis Boudin (; 12 July 18248 August 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, summary ...

, Nicolai Fechin,

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

Félix Ziem Félix Ziem (26 February 1821 – 10 November 1911) was a French painter in the style of the Barbizon School, who also produced some Orientalist works. Biography He was born Félix-Francois Georges Philibert Ziem in Beaune in the Côte-d'O ...

Eugène Isabey Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (22 July 1803, in Paris – 25 April 1886, in Montévrain) was a French painter, lithographer and watercolorist in the Romantic style. Biography He was born to Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a well known painter wh ...

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

Tim Lowly Tim Lowly (born 1958 in Hendersonville, North Carolina) is a Chicago artist, musician, and teacher. He is known for compassionate egg tempera pictures of children in mysterious circumstances.Alan G. Artner, "Grabner Homes in on Subject Matter: L ...

Fritz von Uhde Fritz von Uhde (born Friedrich Hermann Carl Uhde; 22 May 1848 – 25 February 1911) was a German painter of genre and religious subjects. His style lay in-between Realism and Impressionism, he was once known as "Germany's outstanding impression ...

(''Picture Book''), Hermann Corrodi (''Venice''), Ludwig von Zumbusch, Leopold Schmutzler, and

Franz Stuck Franz von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with '' The ...

(''Judgment of Paris'').

Library

The Frye Art Museum library contains more than 2,000 books. It specializes in 19th and 20th century American and German art.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Museums in Seattle Art museums and galleries in Washington (state) Art museums established in 1952 Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Libraries in Seattle 1952 establishments in Washington (state) First Hill, Seattle