Luminaries of the Edmonds art community joined celebrants and local dignitaries at the Frances Anderson Center Thursday evening in a boisterous exhibit opening featuring the work of Northwest School artists Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson; as well as the art of Pacific Northwest artists James Martin and Helmi Dagmar Juvonen.

The exhibit, a collaborative effort of the Edmonds Art Festival Foundation (EAF) and the City of Edmonds Arts Commission, commemorates Edmonds’ roots in the Northwest School movement as well as the accomplishments of Martin and Juvonen

Guest curator and Edmonds native Marni Muir, who spent the past 18 months collecting and evaluating the pieces that will display in the Frances Anderson Center gallery through December, told of her own storied Edmonds upbringing. This included attending her mother’s dinner parties thrown for cast members of the Seattle Opera, her exposure to classical music, and her family’s appreciation of fine art.

“Edmonds deserves this!” Muir, a member of the arts commission, exclaimed as she was surrounded by well-wishers in the moments following the exhibit’s unveiling. “I’ve wanted to do this all of my life,” she said of her desire to showcase the work of the Northwest School’s founding members, Tobey, Graves, Callahan and Anderson. “Many international art lovers can name the big four of the Northwest School: Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan and Guy Anderson. But not everyone knows three of those major artists lived and worked in Edmonds.”

Edmonds Art Festival Foundation Gallery hours are Mon-Fri: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. & Sat: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The gallery is closed Sundays.

— Story and photos by Emily Hill

Watch for video coverage of the exhibit in the December edition of our Edmonds Today video magazine, coming out Dec. 1.