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As Featured In Seattle Luxury Living Magazine: Must-See Museums And Galleries

By RSIR Staff |

Discover a collection of museums and galleries featuring fine art to appreciate and invest in.

To celebrate the publication of Tiger Oak Media’s all-Chinese Seattle Luxury Living magazine, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) is introducing a special English language content series, which will highlight select articles from the magazine over the coming weeks on the RSIR blog. The fourth post in our series is all about the art! Art lovers in the Puget Sound region can take great joy in discovering museums and galleries that display both distinctive pieces from the Pacific Northwest as well as works by internationally acclaimed artists.

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

Located near the island’s ferry terminal, this museum’s mission is to advocate and showcase local and contemporary artists. Relatively young with a 2013 opening date, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art now puts on 15-20 new shows each year. Visit this autumn and winter for a retrospective of Washington artist Robert McCauley’s nature-inspired works.

Bellevue Arts Museum

Born from a 1947 arts fair, this Eastside museum gives special attention to the role of craft and design in art through exhibits like Future Machine (ongoing until September 30, 2017), an ever-changing installation by the art and design studio Electric Coffin that invites local creatives – from artists to technology innovators – to contribute to each stage of its evolution. Not only does BAM celebrate the creative process, but it also stays true to its roots by putting on the award-winning ARTSfair, one of the Northwest’s biggest arts and crafts festivals. This year, the 71st edition of the fair takes place on July 28, 29 and 30.

Frye Art Museum

The Frye Art Museum was born in 1952 to house the personal art collection of Seattle business leaders and arts patrons Charles and Emma Frye, who made a gift of their gathered works to the city and its residents.  The museum continues to make good on its mission statement, “committed to artistic inquiry and a rich visitor experience,” in part by ensuring that admission is always free, so that both viewers and other artists can visit and be inspired. In addition to its mainstay, the Frye Founding Collection, the museum has hosted works by local artists as well as icons like Mark Tobey and Andy Warhol.

Henry Art Gallery

How about going back to the place where it all started? In 1926, Seattle entrepreneurs Horace C. and Susan Henry donated 152 paintings from their private collection to the University of Washington. They also donated $100,000 for construction of what became the first art museum in Washington state. Their collections have evolved to include over 26,000 objects over the years, with a focus on contemporary art and photography. Exhibits have included up-and-coming artists from the Pacific Northwest as well as international artists like Maya Lin and James Turrell.

Pivot Art + Culture

Microsoft co-founder and arts patron Paul Allen created Pivot to give people a different perspective on the world. Senior curator Greg Bell uses his vast expertise in choosing from world-class collections, as well as picking from the best of Pacific Northwestern artists. Collectors and art aficionados won’t want to miss Pivot’s third annual Art Fair, to be held at CenturyLink Field’s WaMu Theater from August 3-6, 2017. The event gives collectors the opportunity to take in both Seattle’s local art scene and the best of other regional and national galleries. Visit seattleartfair.com for more details.

Seattle Art Museum

The not-to-miss Seattle Art Museum is the heart of art in the city, with exhibits covering everything from ancient Roman sculptures, to Pacific Northwestern artists, to last year’s tremendously well-received retrospective of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

Those who purchase a membership (starting at $69 for individuals) gain access to SAM Gallery’s art rental program, through which collectors can try out a piece before deciding to purchase it. An added bonus—the rental fees help support local artists so they can continue their work.

Seattle Asian Art Museum

The Asian Art Museum will unfortunately be off-limits, at least for a short time. Kimerly Rorschach, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO, offers some insight into the renovations that will see a much-improved museum reopen in 2019.

“The museum’s landmark building has not been substantially renovated since opening in 1933,” Rorschach explains. “It’s in dire need of critical infrastructure updates, including seismic and climate control upgrades.”

In addition to better protection for works like the museum’s cherished 17th-century Japanese Crows screens and the more recently acquired Colored Vases by Ai Weiwei, planned improvements to the building’s air conditioning and humidity control systems will allow them to display more works from their entire collection. “A modern climate control system will allow us to show more of our acclaimed Chinese art collection, as well as borrow fragile works—such as metals, scrolls, lacquers, and textiles—from other museums or institutions,” Rorschach says.

As Featured in Seattle Luxury Living Magazine:

Stay tuned for the next installment of the series, which will cover boutique shopping in the area on Friday July 21st.