The Art of Seeing
Cascadia Art Museum • Edmonds, WA
From September 23, 2026 through January 10, 2027, visitors to Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, Washington have the opportunity to learn about the life and work of Zoë Dusanne (1884–1972), a Seattle gallerist and prominent art collector in the mid-twentieth century. The exhibition features work by artists represented by Dusanne, as well as a few artworks documented as being shown in her gallery through photographic evidence and personal narratives, in addition to ephemera and artifacts from her life, such as a marionette created during her time working at the Federal Theatre W.P.A. Marionette Theatre Workshop. The exhibition is built through the extensive family and artist relationships of the museum’s curator, David Martin. Under his care, the works of well-known artists such as Paul Horiuchi and Kenjiro Nomura, as well as artists that may not be known to museum visitors, like Carl Holty and Louise Lewis Gilbert, are on display in the museum to demonstrate Dusanne’s gallery program. The result is a thorough visual documentation of a gallerist who had a profound impact on the lives and careers of twentieth-century artists in Seattle; her legacy is not as well understood as it should be.
The exhibition, “The Art of Seeing,” opens in conjunction with a significant publication about Dusanne by writers and researchers Beth Ann Whittaker and Richelle Munkhoff, the founders of Plain Sight Archive. The book fills a crucial missing piece in understanding the life and legacy of Dusanne, and therefore supports the mission of Plain Sight Archive, which is “to build an innovative relational archive that illuminates and connects traditionally obscured figures and creative communities. Our vision includes foregrounding narratives that highlight expansive representation in the arts, now and for the future.” The coordination of both an exhibition and book release this September is truly a significant moment in the art historical discourse in the Northwest. While the contemporary art market continues to fluctuate and the Seattle art scene grows and evolves, it is important to acknowledge the legacy of female gallerists who were central to the artistic community in the city and broader region.
Both the book and exhibition provide key details of Dusanne’s biography, which is woven into the history of the city of Seattle during a period of post-War upheaval and transformation. Dusanne lived in various locations around the Unites States in her early years, but she finally returned to Seattle in 1942 after nearly 15 years in New York; she opened her art gallery in her home eight years later in 1950. This is where the gallery remained until her home was destroyed to make way for Interstate 5, along with many other homes and businesses largely owned by communities of color and immigrants. On a related note, you can learn more about this moment in Seattle history through an exhibition developed by students at the University of Washington College of Build Environments titled “CITY ERASED: Mapping Seattle’s Highway Cut.” The exhibition was on display in May 2026, but more information can be found online.
Dusanne focused on modern artistic movements, and brought prominent artists in the New York artistic community together with Seattle-based artists. Unsurprisingly, abstract art played an important role in Dusanne’s gallery program. “Quiet Motion and Blue,” an oil-on-canvas painting created in 1961 by John Matsudaira looms large in the galleries at 60 x 80 inches. The contrasting colors of yellow and blue dominate the canvas as Matsudaira creates both tension and motion with black lines and swaths of brilliant color, with a particular focus on the center of the painting where the vibrant blue creates a landing place for the eye. The movement of the paint on the canvas is incredible to see in person, and visitors may remember the painting from Matsudaira’s solo exhibition at Cascadia Art Museum in 2016 titled “Against the Moon: The Art of John Matsudaira.”
While Matsudaira brings your attention to the center of the canvas, fellow abstract painter Al Everett draws the eye all over the picture plane with sweeping brushstrokes of red, blue, white, and green paint. Appropriately titled “Passion,” this collage and oil-on-canvas piece is also be hard to avoid at 48 x 48 inches. Together, the groupings of abstract paintings illustrate the emotion, philosophy, and interest of Dusanne and her circle of artists and clients.
It feels appropriate to end a feature about this incredible woman with words from David Martin, the exhibition curator who also operated a gallery in Seattle. Martin details his connection to and admiration for Dusanne in a statement for the exhibition, and in that statement he recalls the opportunity “to meet some of the artists that she represented such as George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, and especially John Matsudaira who often regaled me with stories of the Dusanne gallery and her exuberant personality. I loved the fact that she would dye her hair lavender or other colors to go with her couture outfits and had dogs and even a pet tortoise that had free reign in her gallery.”
Chloé Dye Sherpe
Chloé Dye Sherpe is an art professional and curator based in Washington State.
“The Art of Seeing” is on view September 23 to January 10, 2027, Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cascadia Art Museum, located at 190 Sunset Avenue South in Edmonds, Washington. For more information, visit www.cascadiaartmuseum.org.
