Treasures from the Trunk: The Story of J.J. Donovan

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014

Old City Hall

J.J. Donovan Calling In 1925, J.J. Donovan posed with chief operator Lillian Bond and Pacific Telephone & Telegraph managaer Ben Reno to commemorate 35 years of telephone service on Bellingham Bay. Courtesy of the Whatcom Museum Collection #1971.102.15

J.J. Donovan Calling
In 1925, J.J. Donovan posed with chief operator Lillian Bond and Pacific Telephone & Telegraph managaer Ben Reno to commemorate 35 years of telephone service on Bellingham Bay.
Courtesy of the Whatcom Museum Collection
#1971.102.15

Through June 1, 2014

J. J. DONOVAN WAS A GUIDING CITIZEN in Bellingham’s formative years. His life and career as a civil engineer, lumberman, railroad superintendent, progressive business man and community builder, will all be explored in an exhibition of historical photographs, artifacts and ephemera, in Old City Hall. The exhibition will draw from the “Donovan Papers,” a recently discovered treasure trove of letters, diaries and company correspondence that were saved for decades by Donovan’s descendants. These historic documents, many of which will be reproduced for display, were generously made available for research to the exhibit’s guest curator Brian Griffin.

Presented by Sanitary Service Company.

Big Cameras, Big Trees: Darius Kinsey at Large in the Woods

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014

Old City Hall

big_cameras_picEnded April 20, 2014; Old City Hall

Throughout his fifty-year career in commercial photography, Darius Kinsey captured the monumental interaction between men, machinery and mammoth trees that defined early logging in Northwest Washington. His compositional aesthetics were refined through the use of large-format cameras, which preserved detail down to the grain of tree bark, the sheen off a locomotive and the grime on a lumberjack’s shirt.

At the time of his death in 1945, some 4,500 of Darius Kinsey’s original negatives remained – a collection that, since 1978, has had a permanent home at the Whatcom Museum. This exhibition draws from Kinsey’s substantial portfolio to present a number of lesser-known works, as well as some of his perennial “greatest hits.”

Pulp

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014

Lightcatcher Building

Paper napkin folder and packer, circa 1960. Photo by Irving Moulin, Whatcom Museum 2008.30.545

Paper napkin folder and packer, circa 1960.
Photo by Irving Moulin, Whatcom Museum 2008.30.545

Ongoing through 2013

For more than seventy years, Bellingham was a major producer of pulp, the raw material used in papermaking. Puget Sound Pulp & Timber, later Georgia-Pacific, exported pulp in bulk to paper manufacturers all over the world. On Bellingham’s waterfront, pulp went specifically to the manufacturing of tissue products, an industry established in 1925 by J.J. Herb and his Pacific Coast Paper Mills. An exhibition in the Lightcatcher building’s 2nd floor passageway featured a dozen historical photographs, from the Whatcom Museum Photo Archives, of highlights in the pulp and tissue making processes.

Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art 1775-2012

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014

Lightcatcher Building

Len Jenshel American Narsaq Sound, Greenland C-print, 26 x 30 inches Courtesy of the artist and Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla

Len Jenshel
American
Narsaq Sound, Greenland C-print, 26 x 30 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla

November 3, 2013 – March 16, 2014; Lightcatcher building

Curated by Barbara Matilsky

Vanishing Ice introduces the rich artistic legacy of the planet’s frozen frontiers now threatened by climate change, a phenomena understood by the public primarily through news of devastating climactic events. The exhibition offers another perspective by providing visitors an opportunity to experience the majesty of sublime landscapes that have inspired artists, writers, and naturalists for more than two hundred years.

Interweaving science, history and art, and highlighting their historical interrelationships, the exhibition encourages audiences to value the preservation of alpine and polar environments for the wellbeing of both nature and culture. Through this exhibition, visitors will begin to appreciate how strongly embedded these regions are in our collective consciousness.

Comprised of 70 works of art, Vanishing Ice will unfold thematically and chronologically, tracing the visual impact of glaciers, icebergs, and fields of ice — unique and often fantastic formations —  on artists’ imaginations.

International in scope, the exhibition features artists from Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States. It will examine the connections among generations of artists as they sought to understand and interpret the color, light, and structure of ice. Through their magical landscapes, visitors will vicariously experience the blue-green hues and extraordinary shapes of another world.

Read the entire curatorial narrative.

View the Vanishing Ice Catalogue.

Presented by:

Allen_Family_Fdn

 

 

National Endowment for the Arts

NEA-logo-color

 

 

 

Supported by


The Norcliffe Foundation

COB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nature in the Balance: Artists Interpreting Climate Change

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

NITB_v3OAn Open Hanging
July 6 – September 22, 2013

IN ANTICIPATION of our upcoming fall exhibition, Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art 1775-2012, the Whatcom Museum invites any artist who is a member of the Whatcom Museum to submit one exhibition-ready work in any media to Nature in the Balance: Artists Interpreting Climate Change.

What is happening to the Earth?

Why is it happening?

What are your visions of the future

How can people make a difference?

See 150 artists’ answers to these questions at the Lightcatcher this summer.

Clearly Art: The Beauty of Glass

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

Ellen Ziegler Hypnagogue 3, 2009 Glass sculpture 24" x 3" and 8" x 13" Courtesy of the Whatcom Museum Collection Gift of the artist

Ellen Ziegler
Hypnagogue 3, 2009
Glass sculpture
24″ x 3″ and 8″ x 13″
Courtesy of the Whatcom Museum Collection
Gift of the artist

April 6 – September 22, 2013 extended

CLEARLY ART SHARES ITS NAME WITH ANOTHER SHOW THAT ORIGINATED AT THE WHATCOM MUSEUM TWENTY YEARS AGO titled Clearly Art: Pilchuck’s Glass Legacy. Between 1992 and 1996, it traveled to a dozen museums around the country. In the twenty years since that important exhibition, the museum’s collection has grown to include a number of new glass works, thanks to a gift from the Safeco collection. Clearly Art presents many of these new pieces to the public for the first time. Clearly Art is curated by Western Washington University curatorial intern Hilary Hamilton.

“Glass has the ability to reflect, refract, and diffuse light unlike any other medium,” says Hamilton. “It can be diaphanous and delicate, or substantial and weighty. Clearly Art: The Beauty of Glass highlights the versatility of the medium, presenting the broad spectrum of forms and applications of studio glass, from the traditional to the radical.”

Jim Olson: Art in Architecture

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

March 10, 2013 – June 9, 2013

AS THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE EXHIBITION DEVOTED TO THE CAREER of Jim Olson, one of the Northwest’s most significant architects, founder of Olson Kundig Architects and designer of the Lightcatcher building, Art in Architecture provides a retrospective of Olson’s first fifty years in architecture, highlighting his residential legacy, as well as his public design work.

Along with the projects themselves, the exhibition explores Olson’s artistic, cultural, natural and personal influences and includes a range of materials that showcase Olson’s process. Original artwork from selected residences, as well as a custom-designed art installation provides visitors with a first-hand experience of Olson’s use of space and collaboration with art.

Support provided by

wsac_arts_wa

Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection {size doesn’t matter}

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

To Press I Ana Teresa Fernandez, 2007 6x8 Courtesy of the Cheech Marin Collection

To Press I
Ana Teresa Fernandez, 2007
6×8
Courtesy of the Cheech Marin Collection

January 12 – March 24, 2013

PRIMARILY KNOWN AS AN ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND PERFORMER, Cheech Marin has developed the finest private collection of Chicano art in the United States. Marin’s most recent passion is collecting small paintings averaging 16 inches square and smaller in size. Chicanitas showcases 65 paintings by 26 painters, ranging from photo-realism to abstractions to portraits to landscapes. In contrast to other works in his collection representing and promoting the Chicano art movement of the mid-60’s and 70’s, the content of many of these small paintings leans more towards the artist’s internal or personal statement rather than as a response to political, social or cultural situations.

Sponsored by

whidbey

 

California Impressionism: Selections from the Irvine Museum

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

Frank Tolles Chamberlin Eaton Canyon, 1934; 26 x 36 Courtesy of the Irvine Museum

Frank Tolles Chamberlin
Eaton Canyon, 1934; 26 x 36
Courtesy of the Irvine Museum

November 17 – February 17, 2013

DURING THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH centuries, California artists produced a unique style that combined several distinctive aspects of American and European art. This style — known as California Impressionism or California plein air painting, after the French term for “in the open air”— focused on capturing the special light and color of the state’s landscape and helped to define modern landscape painting.

Through this stunning collection of 50 paintings from the collection of The Irvine Museum, California, this exhibition features many of the most important artists of the period, including Franz Bischoff, Emil Kosa, Phil Dike, Edgar Payne, William Wendt, Guy Rose, and Granville Redmond.

 

 

 

 

Wild East Meets Wild West: Photographs from Nakhodka, Russia by Georgy Pakin

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013

Lightcatcher Building

Fires and Flags by Tobey Sanford Originally published in Life magazine

Fires and Flags by Tobey Sanford
Originally published in Life magazine

September 30, 2012 – January 6, 2013

DOCUMENTING A REMARKABLE CHAPTER in Russian-American relations, Wild East Meets Wild West provides a taste of life in a distant, little-known part of the Pacific Rim that has much in common with our own region. Bellingham Cold Storage founder Jim Talbot introduced Bellingham and the Pacific Northwest to Nakhodka in 1976 through the creation of joint-fishing operations— a venture that flourished even as official US and USSR relations remained hostile.

Nakhodka news photographer Georgy Pakin’s photos vividly portray daily life in and around Nakhodka during Soviet and post-Soviet times, including the presence of Americans in Nakhodka, its large fishing operations and other activities associated with the Nakhodka-Bellingham relationship.

American Quilts: The Democratic Art

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

Tom's Quilt. Jean Ray Laury. Clovis, California. 1956. Private collection

Tom’s Quilt.
Jean Ray Laury.
Clovis, California. 1956.
Private collection

August 4-October 28, 2012

Organized especially for the Whatcom Museum, American Quilts: The Democratic Art is the first exhibition to tell the whole story of American quilts and quiltmakers, providing a visually compelling, in-depth study of the art, history, and cultural importance of American quilts, from their European origins to the present day.

Based on Robert Shaw’s definitive 2009 book “American Quilts: The Democratic Art 1780-2007,” the exhibition offers a stunning array of thirty quilt masterpieces spanning the entire history of American quiltmaking. It is co-curated by Shaw and fellow quilt expert, author and curator Julie Silber.

Exploring the great visual and cultural diversity of American quilts, the show includes prime examples from a variety of regional quiltmaking traditions as well as outstanding works by Amish, Hawaiian, African-American, and Native American quiltmakers.

Accessible to anyone who can sew, quilts and quiltmaking have been a major form of expression for American women — as well as some men —  and an important part of this country’s cultural landscape since the late 1700s. The best quilts also are significant works of art.

 

 

 

 

Window Shopping

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

windowshoppingApril 14, 2011 – September 30, 2012

With the help of these prints from the Whatcom Museum’s popular photo archives, viewers take a stroll down the streets of Bellingham past for a peek at the store window displays selling everything from cosmetics to furniture.  Among the stores featured will be Montague & McHugh, Adams Style Shop, J. B. Wahl’s, S.H. Kress & Co., Morse Hardware, Owl Pharmacy and B. B. Furniture. Displays pictured range from apparel and housewares to hardware and even eggs!

Curated by Photo Historian Jeff Jewell.

Ray Turner – Population

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

Population portrait by Ray Turner.

Population portrait by Ray Turner.

June 16 – September 16, 2012 

Ray has revitalized the art of portraiture, which was once reserved for society’s elite. The artist builds upon the 19th century democratization of this tradition by capturing the essence of place through a group of its inhabitants. As he travels from region to region Population will grow as more portraits are added and museums across the country join us in hosting this exhibition.

Ray’s evocative portraits are more than representations. They are modules in a larger composition designed by the artist to call our attention to elements of abstraction – color, value, and composition. From the 12 x 12-inch paintings on glass to the large-scaled installation of them in the gallery, the artist ‘s work will help us to see art and our community in new ways.

This exhibition is organized and traveled by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, and sponsored by the Thrive Foundation for Youth.

From the Melting Pot Into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

Dori Schechtel Zanger

Dori Schechtel Zanger

March  25 – July 8, 2012

This unusual show, traveling in North America from Israel, makes its only west coast stop in Bellingham. Presenting an outstanding selection of Israeli studio ceramics, From the Melting Pot into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel explores modern life in Israel. Demonstrating that ceramic art extends far beyond bowls and vases, the contributing artists use an ancient craft to provide new insights into contemporary life and art in Israel that are not represented in the daily dose of news from the Middle East.

Ranging from the satirical to the sublime, 37 examples of ceramic sculpture from 42 artists address issues of identity within an immigrant society. To illuminate the varied concerns of the artworks included in the exhibition, the 42 participating artists were invited to write the captions that appear with their objects in the gallery — captions that are typically written by an exhibition’s curator. These personal statements lend an intimate dimension to the show that gives visitors a variety of perspectives on the issues that shape life in contemporary Israel.

The exhibition was organized by the Ceramic Artists Association of Israel (CAAI) in conjunction with the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, North Carolina. The CAAI is a nongovernmental, non-profit professional organization that supports ceramic artists in Israel. Funding to bring this exhibition to North America was provided by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is accompanied by a fully illustrated, 56-page catalogue.

 

A Paper Trail Redux

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

April 7 – June 3, 2012

Curated by Exhibitions Designer Scott Wallin eisner_for%20paper%20trails%20show

A reprise with surprises, this exhibition builds on the brief Autumn 2011 installation by adding new works (some important, some curious) as well as expanded information about printmaking techniques, the artists, and works themselves.

Prints from the original exhibition are again on display, including those by Henry Moore, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Diebenkorn, Christo, Bridget Riley, Helen Loggie, Anne Appleby and Michael Spafford. Kerr Eby’s print, “September 13, 1918 (The Great Black Cloud), which unexpectedly moved so many visitors, returns as well. Three Doris Totten Chase serigraphs are among the new additions. Chase, a Seattle painter and sculptor, was a renowned pioneer in video art, examples of which are collected by the Museum of Modern Art and many other major museums around the world.

A recent gift to the Whatcom Museum, an untitled wood cut by Bellingham artist Tom Sherwood, will be highlighted. Other additions to the exhibition, which includes more than 50 prints, are works by Guy Anderson, Elizabeth Colborne, and Helen Loggie.

The Art of Recycling

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

Jasmine Valandani Story Machine, 2006

Jasmine Valandani
Story Machine, 2006

March 3 – May 27, 2012

The Art of Recycling, a mini-exhibition in the Lightcatcher lobby and passageway, highlights the varied approaches that artists use to create work from a diverse range of cast-off objects and materials. It features artists Ross Palmer Beecher, Evan Blackwell, Marita Dingus, Meri Rose Ekberg, Julie Haack, Thor Myhre, Mr. Imagination (aka Gregory Warmack), Jasmine Valandani, and Kuros Zahedi.

Art of Recycling is part of the RARE expo, an Allied Arts and Thor Myhre project featuring entertainment, exhibits, seminars, and workshops.

The show also coincides with The Re-Store’s 11th Annual Recycled Arts Show, with lots of great events and art to see in the month of April.

Delivered Daily: The News Photography of Jack Carver

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

jack%20kicking%20backNovember 19-March 25, 2012

JACK CARVER was the staff photographer for The Bellingham Herald from October 1945 to August 1981. This exhibition features images selected from the photographer’s remarkable legacy of 50,000 negatives and 20,000 original prints.

Though the newspaper routinely credited his photos to an anonymous “Herald Staff,” area residents knew who Jack Carver was. He seemed to be at every community event, however momentous or modest, with that large camera he lugged around. Jack Keith, Herald editor at the time of Carver’s retirement described him as “a hometown journalist who had a knack for being there when Bellingham history was made.”

Carver’s high-resolution images document nearly forty years in the history of Bellingham and Whatcom County.

Lesley Dill’s Poetic Visions: From Shimmer to Sister Gertrude Morgan

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

Lesley Dill, Sister Gertrude Morgan, all-seeing eye detail drawing

Lesley Dill, Sister Gertrude Morgan, all-seeing eye detail drawing

October 23, 2011 – March 4, 2012

Curated by Barbara Matilsky

LESLEY DILL is one of the most prominent American artists working at the intersection of language and fine art. Her elegant sculptures, art installations, mixed-media photographs, and evocative performances draw from both her travels abroad and profound interests in spirituality and the world’s faith traditions.

Exploring the power of words to cloak and reveal the psyche, New York-based Dill invests new meaning in the human form. Intellectually and aesthetical engaging, the core of her work emerges from an essential, visionary awareness of the world. Her multi-faceted work appeals to a wide range of interests.

“Poetic Visions invites audiences to delve into art, literature, spirituality, feminism — even fashion,” says Curator of Art Barbara Matilsky, who worked closely with Dill to mount the traveling exhibition.

Dill’s evocative, mixed-media artworks inspire viewers to think about poetry by literary luminaries such as Emily Dickinson in new ways.

For Dill, poetic verse contains the seeds of spiritual insight, which in turn suggest images layered with multiple meaning. Her art reflects the philosophy that people can find solace amidst the complexities of contemporary life. Through an innovative use of materials and media, Dill opens the door to this experience and leaves her mark on contemporary art.

View the Lesley Dill Exhibition Catalog.

Jack Carver: At the Blossom Time Parade

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012

Lightcatcher Building

1995.1.45664October 8, 2011 – February 18, 2012

BEGINNING IN 1947, Bellingham hosted a spring celebration known as the Blossom Time Festival. The opulence and pageantry of Blossom Time’s main attraction, its Grand Parade, is difficult to describe in words. Luckily, Jack Carver, Bellingham Herald staff photographer, documented the event every May for 25 years. Jack Carver: At the Blossom Time Parade features a dozen photographs of the magnificent floats of the 1940s and 1950s. The background in the photos is often equally interesting with the scenes along the parade route revealing a Bellingham that is still recognizable, yet somehow different.

A Paper Trail: Prints from the Collection

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

eisner_for%20paper%20trails%20showOctober 1 – November 13, 2011 

HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANT AND UNUSUAL works in the collection, including new acquisitions by Michael Spafford and Darren Waterston, A Paper Trail explores printmaking; contrasting and comparing styles, techniques and subject matter through a variety of works, including those by Guy Anderson, Christo, Richard Diebenkorn, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley and Jay Steensma.

The Harbor Was Crowned by a Forest of Masts

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

The Bohemia at Anchor in Bellingham Bay

The Bohemia at Anchor in Bellingham Bay

May 21 – October 2, 2011

Tall-masted ships inspire thoughts of adventure, though in their day they were hardworking vessels used to transport our region’s leading commercial export – lumber! The Harbor was Crowned by a Forest of Masts will feature a dozen large photographs of sailing vessels on Bellingham Bay. In the early 1900s, Bellingham’s waterfront, from Fairhaven to Squalicum, was dominated by immense lumber mills. Dimensional lumber, often in widths and lengths no longer possible, was shipped from Bellingham mills to ports as far away as Australia, South America, Asia, and Africa. While the bounty of old-growth fir and cedar lasted, windjammers arrived to load the harvest. The images in this exhibit were selected from the permanent collections of the Whatcom Museum’s Photo Archives.

Exhibition located in the Lightcatcher mezzanine.

Evergreen Muse: The Art of Elizabeth Colborne

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

Elizabeth Colborne; Lake Whatcom Washington, circa 1929; color woodcut, 16x11 inches; gift of the Bellingham Public Library.

Elizabeth Colborne; Lake Whatcom Washington, circa 1929; color woodcut, 16×11 inches; gift of the Bellingham Public Library.

June 17– September 25, 2011

In the most comprehensive look at Elizabeth Colborne’s work ever mounted, guest curator David Martin sheds light on the life and work of one of the most interesting artists active in Washington State during the first half of the twentieth century. While Colborne (1885-1948), who lived and worked in New York, was a master draughtsman who produced extraordinary black and white nature drawings, she is most remembered for her striking color woodcuts, many of which featured the forests and mountains that surrounded her Bellingham home. She was the foremost regional practitioner of the medium and produced some of the most unique prints associated with the American Arts & Crafts Movement.

Exhibition located in the Lightcatcher first and second floor galleries.

Fate of the Forest: Open Hanging

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011June 4, 2011 - September 18, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

Karen Rudd Last Stand: Cedar, 2009 Reclaimed corrugated cardboard

Karen Rudd
Last Stand: Cedar, 2009
Reclaimed corrugated cardboard

June 4 –September 18, 2011

From alpine meadows and rocky peaks to surf-splashed coastline, the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest offer boundless inspiration for art. In celebration of Evergreen Muse: The Art of Elizabeth Colborne (1885-1948), and to stimulate vital dialogue on the future of our forests, the Whatcom Museum will host an open hanging. The show will feature work from a variety of artists who answered the call to submit in any media interpreting the Pacific Northwest forest.

Exhibition located in Lightcatcher first floor (tall) gallery and Old City Hall 2nd Floor.

New Gifts and Acquisitions: Collections Selections Two

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011June 4, 2011 - September 18, 2011January 22, 2011 - June 5, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

Michael Brophy  Small Curtain, 1999, oil on canvas, 49 1/4 x 37 1/4 inches

Michael Brophy
Small Curtain, 1999, oil on canvas,
49 1/4 x 37 1/4 inches

January 22 – June 5, 2011

Featuring a selection of extraordinary artworks that transformed the Whatcom Museum’s collection in 2010, this exhibition of Northwest art includes paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, glass and ceramics.

Much of the art featured came to the Museum via an unprecedented donation of the Safeco Art Collection to the Washington Arts Consortium.  Works by Dale Chihuly, Diem Chau, Hilda Morris, Barbara Earl Thomas, George Tsutakawa, Gerard Tsutakawa, and many, many more have significantly boosted the Museum’s promising sculpture collection, and solidified its prominence in both landscape paintings and work by Northwest artists.

Arts & Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011June 4, 2011 - September 18, 2011January 22, 2011 - June 5, 2011December 8, 2010 - May 15, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

IV.A.442_WACOpineConeTileDecember 18, 2010 – May 15, 2011

Highlighting the “beautiful necessities of the Arts and Crafts movement, The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest is a traveling exhibition from Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) that details the rich legacy of Arts and Crafts in Washington and Oregon during the first quarter of the 20th Century.

Organized and circulated by the Museum of History & Industry, Seattle, the exhibit showcases significant buildings and interiors, furniture, glass, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, fine arts, graphics and book arts, and photography with over one hundred objects drawn from public and private collections. Curators for the exhibition are Lawrence Kreisman, Hon. AIA Seattle, program director of Historic Seattle and Glenn Mason, co-owner of Cultural Images, a museum and historical society consulting firm.

Bellingham Houses of Arts and Crafts

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011June 4, 2011 - September 18, 2011January 22, 2011 - June 5, 2011December 8, 2010 - May 15, 2011November 20, 2010 - May 15, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

Magnificent Roeder home nears completion, 1910. 1975.0103.000008

Magnificent Roeder home nears completion, 1910.
1975.0103.000008

November 20, 2010 – May 15, 2011

Vintage photographs of Bellingham houses built between 1904 and 1924 will be on display from the Whatcom Museum Photographic Archives in the Lightcatcher. The photos show the range of Arts and Crafts’ influence–from a shingle weaver’s humble house to the majestic Roeder Home in Broadway Park. Fine examples of Craftsman houses, bungalows, and Four Squares can be found throughout Bellingham’s older neighborhoods, all part of the Arts and Crafts legacy in the Pacific Northwest.

1934: A New Deal for Artists

July 28, 2013 - June 1, 2014December 18, 2013 - April 20, 2014April 1, 2014 - August 1, 2014November 3, 2013 - March 16, 2014July 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013April 6, 2013 - September 22, 2013March 10, 2013 - June 9, 2013January 12, 2013 - March 24, 2013November 17, 2012 - February 17, 2013September 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013August 4, 2012 - October 28, 2012April 14, 2012 - September 30, 2012June 16, 2012 - September 16, 2012March 25, 2012 - July 8, 2012April 7, 2012 - June 3, 2012March 3, 2012 - May 27, 2012November 19, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 23, 2011 - March 4, 2012October 8, 2011 - March 25, 2012October 1, 2011 - November 13, 2011May 21, 2011 - October 2, 2011June 17, 2011 - September 25, 2011June 4, 2011 - September 18, 2011January 22, 2011 - June 5, 2011December 8, 2010 - May 15, 2011November 20, 2010 - May 15, 2011September 18, 2010 - January 9, 2011

Lightcatcher Building

Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor

Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor

September 18, 2010 — January 9, 2011

In 1934, Americans grappled with an economic situation that feels all too familiar today. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the U.S. government created the Public Works of Art Project — the first federal government program to support the arts nationally. Artists who participated in the program, which lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934, were encouraged to depict “the American Scene.” They painted recognizable subjects — from portraits to cityscapes and images of city life to landscapes and depictions of rural life — that reminded the public of quintessential American values such as hard work, community and optimism. These artworks, which were displayed in schools, libraries, post offices, museums and government buildings, vividly capture the realities and ideals of Depression-era America, and provided artists with a sense of pride in serving their country.

1934: A New Deal for Artists, celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) by drawing on the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s unparalleled collection of vibrant paintings created for the program.