Past Exhibitions

EVERGREEN MUSE: THE ART OF ELIZABETH COLBORNE
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
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.

FATE OF THE FOREST: OPEN HANGING
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.

THE HARBOR WAS CROWNED BY A FOREST OF MASTS
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.