Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:704 Terry Ave
Seattle, Washington
Tel:
(206) 622-9250
Located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, the Frye museum is home to representational painting and sculpture from the 19th century to the present. The Museum was built upon the initial donation of Charles and Emma Frye's private collection. The Fryes also set aside funds to house their collection of over 230 paintings. Today, it is well known as Seattle's first free art museum.
In keeping with Charles Frye's passion for German representational art, the Frye Museum never diversifies its collections as new art forms emerge, as most museums do, so visitors are in for a unique art experience. Though the collection itself has been called dark and dramatic, visitors are greeted at the rotunda with a naturally lit, elegant lobby, an outdoor reflecting pool, a waterfall, and a courtyard garden. The galleries themselves are painted in darker tones of eggplant and taupe, to offset the dark permanent collection. The collection itself focuses on the Munich School, and includes American masters of the genre such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and Mary Cassatt. Visitors here can peruse minimalist and abstract art, enjoy softer landscape and portrait art, or explore the intriguing visiting exhibits, which often depict historical eras of American art.
When you're ready to relax, and discuss all you've seen over lunch, the museum café offers tasty lunches of salads, soups, sandwiches, and entrees, and can always be counted on to have a vegetarian item on the menu. Be sure not to miss the Frye's top-notch bookstore for a take home book or souvenir.
From Frye Art Museum - Seattle, Washington:
Charles and Frank Frye and a friend Charles Bruhn created the Frye-Bruhn Meat Packing Co., in Seattle in 1891. Built on 15 acres of tide flats located in South Seattle near the site of Seahawks Stadium, Frye businesses prospered, sparked by the need for gold mining provisions during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. During this time, the payroll grew from $500 a month to more than $1 million a year. The Frye business expanded to include cattle, sheep, hog, and chicken ranching in several western states, later expanding to include a large scale meat processing plant with retail sales outlets stretching from California to Alaska. During these prosperous times Charles and Emma were able to travel to Europe and collect art.