黑料不打烊

鈥淪he is pretty and feminine with a man鈥檚 executive mind. She can hire鈥攐r fire鈥攁 staff, buy and sell property, reorganize a corporation. She can also put in a garden, sew a fine seam and bid for the right paintings at an auction.鈥� Dorothy Brant Brazier, 鈥淲idow Took Husband鈥檚 Place,鈥� Seattle Times, May 12, 1968.

鈥淗er style鈥攊f she were a man鈥攚ould be tagged macho, but she鈥檚 78 and a lady. For 17 years, Kay Greathouse has been director of the Frye Art Museum, as well as its sole curator, registrar, head of personnel, finance chief and gardener.鈥� Deloris Tarzan, 鈥淭he Frye Art Museum is Completely Hers,鈥� Seattle Times, January 26, 1984.

鈥淕reathouse runs the Frye Art Museum on Seattle鈥檚 First Hill. In fact, she is the museum. It is as much a part of her as her all-seeing, laughing eyes.鈥� Joe Frisino, 鈥淕reathouse Gives Frye Art Museum a Special Touch,鈥� Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 27, 1987.

This summer the Frye Art Museum honors one of the most influential directors in its history: Ida Kay Greathouse, who turns 105 this year. The Frye鈥檚 longest-serving director, Mrs. Greathouse led the Museum from 1966 until her retirement in 1993.

Thanks in large part to the tenacity and skill of Mrs. Greathouse鈥檚 husband, Walser Greathouse, the Museum鈥檚 first director and the executor of Charles Frye鈥檚 estate, the Frye Art Museum opened its doors to the public in 1952. During his tenure Greathouse made astute acquisitions, supplementing the Founding Collection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century European painting鈥攑redominantly from Germany鈥攚颈迟丑 artworks by important American artists from the same time period: George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Charles Hawthorne, Winslow Homer, George Inness, Geri Melchers, John Singer Sargent, John Sloan, and John Alden Weir. His purchases showcased the work of a number of American artists who had received their training in Germany and provided the Museum with key examples of American Impressionism and Modernism.

Mrs. Greathouse, who took the Frye鈥檚 helm following Walser鈥檚 death in 1966, continued her husband鈥檚 focus on American art, complementing her first acquisitions鈥擶illiam Harnett鈥檚 A Wooden Basket of Catawba Grapes and Walt Kuhn鈥檚 Acrobats in Dressing Room鈥攚颈迟丑 works by William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, George Luks, John Singer Sargent, Everett Shinn, and N.C., Andrew, and Jamie Wyeth. During her tenure she also enhanced the Founding Collection鈥檚 French paintings with impressionist works by Berthe Morisot, Pierre-August Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, among others.

Under Mrs. Greathouse鈥檚 leadership, the Frye also moved into new collecting directions, acquiring significant works by early-twentieth-century Russian-trained 茅migr茅s Nicolai Fechin, Leon Gaspard, and Sergei Bongart, as well as twentieth-century Alaskan landscapes by Ted Lambert, Sydney Laurence, Fred Machetanz, and Eustace Ziegler. As early as 1970, Mrs. Greathouse voiced interest in adding a new gallery to display the Museum鈥檚 collection of Alaskan art. Her dream became a reality in 1984 when the Frye unveiled its Alaska Wing, a popular feature of the Museum during Mrs. Greathouse鈥檚 directorship.

Providing the first overview of her collecting accomplishments, this exhibition features important acquisitions made over the nearly three decades Mrs. Greathouse led the Frye. While including a number of French paintings, the exhibition focuses primarily on American objects, demonstrating the key role played by Mrs. Greathouse in moving the Museum from its initial mandate to showcase European art to becoming an active collector and exhibitor of twentieth-century American art.