Biography, Statement and Résumé
A short biography, artist's statement and résumé, including selected exhibitions, collections etc.
Biography
William E. Elston was born on June 18, 1949 in Spirit Lake Idaho. He grew up in the rural area southeast of Spokane Washington called Glenrose Prairie. He attended high school in Spokane at the then newly built Joel E. Ferris High School. After leaving home at age 16 he traveled extensively, to San Francisco during the peak of the hippie era, then to Los Angeles, New York and Montreal, Quebec, where he finished high school studies at Baron Byng High School.
He returned to the Pacific Northwest and studied painting at Fort Wright College of the Holy Names in Spokane, and at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Fort Wright in 1975. He spent a year teaching painting workshops at The Evergreen State College, and then spent several years studying privately in New York and Boston. In Boston he worked closely within the milieu of R. H. Ives Gammell, an acknowledged founder of the contemporary atelier movement. He shared a studio with Samuel Rose, his principal mentor. Within these three contexts, Mr. Elston's education encompasses the small liberal arts college, a traditional 20th century art school, and an atelier system.
His first experiences with landscape painting and drawing were on a trip to Vancouver BC, Victoria BC and Seattle while he was still in high school. He continued painting landscape en plein air during his college years, and has made depicting the rural and urban landscape his principal area of interest. During those same years he developed a deep and abiding interest in the history of art, and especially in the social history of painting.
Mr. Elston has taught at Fort Wright College, The Spokane Art School, The Academy for Realist Art (now The Gage Academy), the Frye Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and has been a guest lecturer at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, Whitworth College in Spokane, Eastern Washington University in Cheney, the University of Washington in Seattle, and The Gage Academy. He continues to teach ongoing plein air classes and workshops in Seattle and surrounding areas.
Mr. Elston was an original founding member of the Northwest Figurative Artists' Alliance, an organization that presented lectures and symposia on issues related to figurative art and Realism, sponsored ongoing roundtable discussions and periodic meetings amongst artists, published a bi-monthly journal of art criticism and review, networked with figurative artists worldwide and actively worked to promote the concerns of Realism and figuration. At its peak the organization had over 60 members. The Northwest Figurative Artists' Alliance was revived in 2010, primarily as a website that featured members' works and show announcements. It was disbanded in 2018.
William E. Elston's work has been widely collected in the United States and in Europe, and is included in many public, private and corporate collections. These include Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, McGraw Hill, American Express, Ashforth Pacific, Miller Nash LLP, Swedish Hospital in Seattle, University Hospital, Evergreen Hospital, Bill and Melinda Gates, the City of Seattle and the City of Portland.
He founded Suzumebachi Design Services (formerly webXdesign) in 1993, which designs gallery, artist and art-related websites, advises artists and arts professionals on their Internet presence and other matters in the digitial information field.
Artist's Statement
I grew up between small town life, rural farmlands and the city. I've never been completely happy in one environment or the other, but I do find some joy when I explore the relationships between the three. My earliest experiences making art were varied, constructing alligators from paper, scotch tape and kleenex, drawing giants and detectives, and other kid stuff. I don't think I've ever grown out of that world of make believe. I began drawing and painting landscapes in high school, often sitting in the woods with charcoal and paper trying to mimic the rhythms of light and shadow, growth and decay. On a trip to Victoria BC I sketched the Empress Hotel, using colored chalk and turpentine washes. Architecture was and is a fascination, but more as a reflection of human intention rather than as feats of engineering. My boyhood interest in puppets and marionettes found echoes in the shallow theatrical space of the street, where freeform improvisational dramas take place all the time. Humans are always engaged in social display, consciously or not. I love literature where the street's chance meetings drive the plot forward, like in the novels of Dickens, Galdós or Zola. I also like travelogues that describe the fragile tapestries of life and land, like Ma Jian's Red Dust. I've spent a life painting, often against the grain, and I'm happy to see young people taking up the brush and engaging in very careful looking. Even a static scene can only reveal its riches with the tribute of concentration. I've often thought about the purpose of art, as one also questions the purpose of life. I fall back on Robert Henri's statement, which I can only paraphrase because it's been so long since I first read it: "Art is how men speak to each other across the centuries."
Selected Exhibitions
| 2023 | First Annual Postcard Show, Brassworks Gallery, Portland OR |
| Holiday Show, Leonard Brothers Fine Art, Mount Vernon WA | |
| "What's What", Solo Show, Leonard Brothers Fine Art, Mount Vernon WA | |
| Gala Opening, Leonard Brothers Fine Art, Mount Vernon WA | |
| 2021 | OUT OF ORBIT: The Fort Wright College Art Wars, Zen Sekai Gallery, World Wide Web |
| What Is Found There, Group Exhibition, Zen Sekai Gallery, World Wide Web | |
| Ongoing 3D Walkthrough Exhibition, Zen Sekai Gallery, World Wide Web | |
| 2019 | Unwrap The Creative - 2019 Small Works Exhibit, The Art Spirit Gallery, Coeur d'Alene ID |
| Art Of The West, July 19 - August 24, High Desert Museum, Bend OR (catalogue) | |
| Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2019 Exhibition, August 4 - 24, Maryhill Museum, Goldendale WA | |
| 1990-Present | Art Resource, Museum of Northwest Art and Culture, Spokane WA |
| 2019 | Portraits and Self Portraits by Northwest Artists, January 17 through September 29, Cascadia Art Museum, Edmonds WA |
| 2018-19 | Closing Exhibition, group show, Dodson's Jewelry and Fine Art, November 2018 - March 2019, Spokane WA |
| 2018 | Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2018 Exhibition, August 5 - 25, Maryhill Museum, Goldendale WA |
| 2017 | Here, There and Everywhere, solo show, Dodson's Jewelry and Fine Art, November 2017, Spokane WA |
| Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2017 Exhibition, August 4 - 27, Maryhill Museum, Goldendale WA | |
| 2016 | Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2016 Exhibition, August 26 - 28, Maryhill Museum, Goldendale WA |
| In This World: Paintings by William E. Elston and Ann Duffy, April 8 - May 15, i. e. gallery, Edison WA | |
| 2015 | My Old Haunts: Paintings By William Elston, Dodson's Jewelry and Fine Art, Sept. 25 - Oct. 31, Spokane WA |
| 2014 | Solo Exhibition, Fire On Main Gallery of Fine Art, June - July, Soap Lake, WA |
| 2013 | Ongoing exhibitions, Irimi Fine Art, Spokane, WA |
| 2012 | Group Exhibition, Contemporary Works (continuing from December 2011), December/January, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| Ongoing exhibitions, Irimi Fine Art, Spokane, WA | |
| 2011 | Group Exhibition, Contemporary Works, December/January, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| Ongoing exhibitions, Irimi Fine Art, Spokane, WA | |
| Solo Exhibition, My Apartment Gallery, Yoville | |
| 2010 | Group Exhibition, Small Works, December, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| Fragments From a Larger Narrative, August, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA | |
| Celebrating Realism, group show, June, Museo Gallery, Langley, WA | |
| 2009 | June Group Show, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| Works On Paper, Borealis Art, Tucson, AZ | |
| 2008 | American Embassy in Moldova, Selected Work, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova (work on extended loan to Art In Embassies Program, U.S. Department of State), link to American Embassy in Moldova. Although the pdf catalogue for this exhibition is no longer online at the Embassy, you can download or view a copy here. |
| Century 21: Dealers' Choice, The Wright Space, Seattle, WA | |
| Solo Exhibition - Town & Country, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA | |
| Group Exhibitions, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA | |
| 2007 | Group Exhibitions, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| 2006 | Group Exhibitions, Woodside Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA |
| 2005 | Group Exhibitions, Woodside Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA |
| 2004 | Elizabeth Leach Gallery Pearl District Grand Opening, Portland, OR |
| Group Exhibitions, Woodside Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA | |
| 2003 | Group Exhibitions, Woodside Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA |
| 2002 | Water's Edge, Maryhill Museum, Goldendale, WA |
| Group Exhibitions, Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA | |
| 2001 | Group Exhibitions, Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA |
| 2000 | Group Show, The Male Figure, Martin/Zambito Gallery, Seattle, WA |
| 1999 | Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| Solo Exhibition, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR | |
| 1998 | Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| 1997 | Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA |
| 1996 | 15th Anniversary Exhibition, Elizabeth Leach Gallery,Portland, OR |
| Group Exhibition, El Waco Museum, El Waco, WA | |
| 1995 | 100 Years of Northwest Painting, Bellevue Art Museum |
| Recent Paintings, Davidson Galleries, Seattle | |
| 1994 | Landscape Exhibition, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland |
| 1993 | Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle |
| 1992 | Camera to Canvas, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue |
| 1991 | Solo Exhibition, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland |
| 1990 | Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle |
| 1990-91 | Barcelona Artists' Exchange Exhibition, Artist Equity Washington Chapter, Seattle, Vancouver, and Barcelona, Spain |
| 1989 | Seattle - Tashkent Print Exchange Exhibition, Stone Press Gallery, Seattle and Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
| Solo Exhibition, Davidson Galleries' Seattle | |
| 1988 | Contemporary Northwest Landscape, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland |
| Contemporary Landscape, Litchfield Library, Litchfield CT | |
| 1985 | The Figure in the Landscape, Artists' Choice Museum, curated by Jack Beal and Judd Tully, New York |
| A Sense of Place, Pentagram Corp. w/ Metropolitan Life, Bank of California Center, Seattle | |
| Contemporary Landscape, Litchfield Library, Litchfield CT | |
| 1983-87 | Various Gallery and Group Shows, Foster / White Gallery, Seattle |
| 1983 | Northwest Juried Annual, Cheney Cowles Museum |
| 1982 | Boston Painters, Parkman House Mayoral Residence, Boston |
| 1981 | Eight from Fenway Studios, Tichnor Library at Harvard |
| 1979 | Artists and Friends, First Street Gallery, New York |
Selected Publications
| 2015 | From The Studio: Painter William Elston, interview by Verne Windham, Morning Classical, Spokane Public Radio, September 24, 2015. |
| 2015 | Lines and Colors: Notes and comments on visual art by Charley Parker. |
| 2002 | Representing Washington, by Gussie Fauntleroy, Southwest Art Magazine, November 2002, Houston. |
| 2001 | Artists Express, SCCTV Cable Channel, Interview by Billy King, produced and directed by Scott Morrison. |
| 2001 | The Pacific Northwest Landscape: A Pictorial History, edited by Kitty Harmon, with an introduction by Jonathan Rabin, Susquatch Books, Seattle. |
| 1999 | Review, Elizabeth Leach Exhibition, Southwest Art Magazine, Houston. |
| 1994 | Studio View – Seattle, by Bruce Barcott, THE NEW ART EXAMINER, January issue, Chicago. |
| 1995 | The Captured City, by Tom McTaggart, Seattle Weekly, Seattle. |
| Images So Real…, by Robin Updike, Seattle Times, Seattle. | |
| 1993 | William Elston: Aesthetics Of Subversion, by Elizabeth Bryant, Reflex Magazine, Seattle. |
| 1992 | Mechanical Reproduction: Camera To Canvas At The Bellevue Art Museum, reviewed by David Berger, Reflex Magazine, Seattle |
| 1991 | Elston's Work Portrays…, by Suzanne Gladych Pate, The Spokesman Review, Spokane. |
Teaching
| 2020-Present | Online Group Critiques, Tuesdays 4-6 PM |
| 2018-19 | Winter Lecture Series, Panther Lake Studio, Snohomish WA |
| 1995-Present | Ongoing Seasonal Plein Air Workshops, Greater Seattle, Spokane, etc. |
| 1995-Present | Private instruction |
| 2007-2008 | Occasional lectures, Gage Academy, Seattle, WA |
| 2001 | The Frye Art Museum |
| 1995 | Instructor, Venetian Painting Techniques, Seattle Art Museum (in conjunction with the exhibition Treasures of Venice: Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest) |
| Guest lecturer, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane WA | |
| 1994-96 | Instructor of painting and drawing, Academy of Realist Art (Now Gage Academy) |
| 1994 | Guest lecturer, University of Washington, Seattle, WA |
| 1983 | Guest lecturer Whitworth College, Spokane, Eastern Washington University. |
| 1982-85 | Instructor, Spokane Art School, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane |
| 1979 | Guest lecturer, Marymount Manhattan College, New York |
| 1975 | Painting Workshops, Extended Learning Program, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA |
| 1973-75 | Instructor of painting, drawing and design, Fort Wright College of the Holy Names, Spokane |
Education
| 1978-82 | Additional private study in New York and Boston |
| 1969-75 | Fort Wright College of the Holy Names, Spokane |
| 1971 | California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland |
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Fort Wright College, 1975
Additional informal study in fine art lithography, at The Evergreen State College, 1975 - 76
Extensive reading in the fields of art history, cultural studies, fine art conservation, Japanese printmaking and other subjects.
Over the past decade I've become deeply interested in Japanese and Asian culture. I've studied Japanese language, traveled to Japan, and become involved, with my martial arts group (the Seattle Branch of the World Seido Karate Organization), in the regional Japanese community. I've become especially interested in the history of Japanese film, and have viewed over 500 films, both classic and contemporary. This interest has had a profound influence on my work, especially the Japanese printmakers of the shin hanga, the ukiyo-e revival of the first half of the Twentieth Century.
Consulting
| 2023 | Juror, Palouse Plein Air, including lecture and demo at University of Idaho, Moscow ID |
| 1990-2018 | Founding Member, Northwest Figurative Artists Alliance, Seattle WA |
| 1989-94 | President, Northwest Chapter of Artists Equity, Seattle WA |
| 1982-85 | Chairperson of Program Committee, Touchstone Center for the Visual Arts, Spokane |
| 1980-82 | Fenway Studios Artists Cooperative, Boston MA |
| 1977-79 | Figurative Artists Alliance of New York, New York NY |
| 2009-Present | Founder / owner, Suzumebachi Design Services, Seattle |
| 1994-2018 | Co-founder, with Malgosia Askanas and Michele Macaluso, of PUPTCRIT, one of the longest running list-type electronic forums. PUPTCRIT has become an international clearing house for the history, practice, shop-talk, announcements and remembrances of artists that work in the field of puppetry. |
| 1993-2018 | Founding member, Northwest Figurative Artists' Alliance |
| 1993-2008 | Owner webxdesign, consulting and design for arts related websites, Seattle |
| 1990-95 | Writer for REFLEX, a Northwest art journal, Seattle |
| 1986-88 | Editor and writer for Northwest Artpaper Illustrated, Seattle |
| 1985-86 | Writer for Vision Magazine, a Journal for the Visual Arts, Seattle |
| 1984-85 | Consultant, Cheney Cowles Museum (now the Museum of Northwest Art and Culture) Docent Program, Spokane |
| 1982-85 | Member of Board of Directors, Spokane Art School |
| 1982-85 | Chairperson of Program Committee, Touchstone Center for the Visual Arts, Spokane |
Professional Affiliations
| 2021 | Founder/Owner, Zen Sekai Gallery, an online virtual gallery. |
| 1990-2018 | Founding Member, Northwest Figurative Artists Alliance, Seattle WA |
| 1989-94 | President, Northwest Chapter of Artists Equity, Seattle WA |
| 1982-85 | Board Member, Spokane Art School, Spokane WA |
| 1983 | Touchstone Center For The Visual Arts, Spokane WA |
| 1980-82 | Fenway Studios Artists Cooperative, Boston MA |
| 1977-79 | Figurative Artists Alliance of New York, New York NY |
Selected Collections
| MUSEUM COLLECTIONS | |
| Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, gift of Lee and Jody Sahlin | |
| PRIVATE COLLECTIONS | |
| John Urdal and Claire Elam, Seattle, WA | |
| Trade Stevens, New York, NY / Mableton, GA | |
| Paul and Julie Nelson, Bellevue, WA | |
| Ms. Patrice Pendell, Nagoya, Japan | |
| Daniel Buchanan, Vientiane, Laos | |
| Anthony and Carol Boutard, Gaston, OR | |
| Mr. Dean Eliasen, Spokane, WA | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Allen Hoover, Spokane, WA | |
| Hon. Tari S. Eitzen, Spokane, WA | |
| Ray Johnson, Seattle, WA | |
| Steven and Theresa Helmbrecht, Spokane, WA | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Erik Heipt, Seattle, WA | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Kirby McDonald, Bellevue, WA | |
| Mr. John Goodfellow, Seattle, WA | |
| Mr. Matt O'Meara / Ms. Lisa Belden, Mercer Island, WA | |
| Mr. Jeff Smyth, Seattle, WA | |
| David Martin / Dominic Zambito, Seattle, WA | |
| Mr. Tom McQuaid, Seattle, WA | |
| Mr. Wm. Dubin, Tucson, AZ | |
| Mr. & Mrs. James Steiwer | |
| Mr. & Mrs. James Baum, New York, NY | |
| Mr. & Mrs. William Gates | |
| Ms. M. Daly, Fairfield, CT | |
| Mr. Patrick Duffy, Los Angeles, CA | |
| Ms. Lois Foraker, Los Angeles, CA | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Neal Fosseen, Spokane, WA | |
| Ms. Judy Grollmus, Spokane, WA | |
| Mrs. Bernard Kopcynski, Spokane, WA | |
| Mr & Mrs Michael Moore, Spokane, WA | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Lee Sahlin, Spokane, WA | |
| Mr & Mrs Donald Thulean, Wash. DC, (presented by The Spokane Symphony Society) | |
| PUBLIC COLLECTIONS | |
| Seattle Collects 2000, City of Seattle, WA | |
| The City of Portland, OR | |
| Art in Public Places, Washington State Arts Commission | |
| CORPORATE COLLECTIONS | |
| Miller Nash LLP, Portland , OR | |
| Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, WA | |
| The Seattle Tennis Club, Seattle, WA | |
| McGraw Hill, Inc., New York, NY | |
| Microsoft, Redmond, WA | |
| Hewlett - Packard, Vancouver, WA | |
| American Express, Seattle, WA | |
| Chicago Title Insurance Co., Seattle, WA | |
| Washington Trust Bank, Spokane, WA | |
| Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA | |
| University Hospital, Seattle, WA | |
| Ashforth Pacific Inc., Portland, OR | |
| Seattle University Law School, Seattle, WA | |
| Frank Russell Inc., Tacoma, WA | |