The Biker Girl finds her forever home in the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection
I am so excited to share that my painting Biker Girl | Snoqualmie Pass, 1922 was recently purchased and accessioned into Seattle’s Civic Art Collection!
She now has a forever home in King County as a part of their Portable Works Collection.
Established in 1973, the Portable Works Collection features over 3,200 works by both new and established artists. The collection rotates occasionally and artworks are exhibited primarily in public areas of municipal buildings.
You can check out a digital catalogue of the collection here. (Note: My piece is still being processed so it won’t show up yet!)
The Biker Girl was recently a part of the exhibition, You, Me, & Everything In Between Us this fall at the ARTS at King Street Station Gallery.
The gallery space is located on the top floor of King Street Station in downtown Seattle. It’s a really cool modular gallery showing contemporary artists that is operated by the Seattle Department of Arts & Culture. I definitely recommend you pop by if you’re visiting Seattle!
The station itself is still active and was bustling with commuters during my visit to the gallery in early October.
The exhibition was wonderful! It was surreal to see my work up on the gallery wall.
The painting, one in my series of regional historical photographs, was inspired by this photograph from 1922 that I came across in my research.
Unfortunately, the identity of the young woman is unknown, but her neutral-yet-playful expression is so captivating. In her eyes I see a coy excitement, a bit of weariness, and grounded confidence. She’s leaning against her late-1910’s Excelsior motorbike, posed momentarily in her journey along the recently established Sunset Highway in Snoqualmie Pass, Washington.
When I first saw this snapshot from over 100 years ago, I instantly knew I had to immortalize her in oils. In spending over 40 hours studying the photograph and translating it to the canvas I developed a strong, connection with The Biker Girl, whoever she was. I am so honored to know that my portrait of her will reside in King County, and I hope she would be too.
Image Credit:
Photographer: Connell, Russell Harrington (1876-1950), circa. 1922. Image curtesy of the Ellensburg Public Library Photograph Collection via Washington Rural Heritage, KRC167.