Northwest Modernists, Spokane and American Artists | Northwest Modernists | Jay Steensma (Northwest Art Collection: Works On Paper)

Northwest Art Collection: Works On Paper

Northwest Modernists, Spokane and American Artists : Northwest Modernists : Jay Steensma

Name: Jay Steensma

Born: 1941

Died: 1994

Nationality: American

Affiliation: Northwest Artist

Jay Steensma was born in 1941 in Moscow, Idaho and died in Seattle in 1994. He received his B.F.A. from the University for Washington in 1962 and painted steadily for the rest of his life. Though primarily a painter, he also made sculptures, prints, and photo-collages. Chalices, snakes, houses, clouds, and fish were some of his predominating subject matter. He usually painted in shades of gray and added small bits of primary colors for shock value. He was well known for using the motifs of his mentor Morris Graves. According to friend and colleague Charles Krafft, Steensma loved the idea of whipping out drawings and paintings in a frenzy of creative energy. He was also a master of scale. His work ranged from wall-filling oils to postage stamp size drawings. The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture owns sixteen drawings and etchings by Steensma, a collection largely created from donations from Wesley Wehr and Dale Stenning. Sources: Collection records, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane.

 
1st Week

1st Week

Date: 1981
Image Dimensions: 9 x 12 inches (image)
Medium: paper,graphite
More » Inscription: "Steensma 81," lower right; "No this is not St. Marks," verso
Subjects: altar and figurative
Provenance: Gift of... [more]
Broadmoor

Broadmoor

Date: 1980
Image Dimensions: 8 5/8 x 11 3/4 inches (image)
Medium: lithographic pencil, paper
More » Inscription: "Steensma 80," lower right; "1980," lower left
Subjects: figurative and car
Provenance: Gift... [more]
Earliest Settlers in Salt Lake

Earliest Settlers in Salt Lake

Date: 1970's
Image Dimensions: 9 x 12 inches (image)
Medium: ink,graphite,paper
More » Inscription: "J. Steensma," lower right quadrant
Subject: figurative
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1990
Collection... [more]
Eco

Eco

Date: 1990
Image Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches (image)
Medium: graphite,paper,eraser
More » Inscription: "Eco," lower left margin; "J. Steensma," "1990, " lower right margin
Subjects: artist, model, and... [more]
Oakesdale Grain Elevators in Harvest Season

Oakesdale Grain Elevators in Harvest Season

Date: 1978
Image Dimensions: 9 x 12 inches (support)
Medium: ink,Watercolor,paper
More » Inscription: "Steensma 1978," lower right
Subjects: grain elevator, Oakesdale, and WA
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr,... [more]
Untitled

Untitled

Date: 1966
Image Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 12 3/8 inches (image)
Medium: ink,paper
More » Inscription: "Steensma 1966," lower right
Subjects: god and figurative
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1990
Collection... [more]
Untitled

Untitled

Date:
Image Dimensions: 9 x 6 inches (image)
Medium: gouache
More » Inscription: "Steensma," lower right
Subject: figurative
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1990
Collection Number: 3495.2
Untitled

Untitled

Date: 1990
Image Dimensions: 5 7/8 x 9 inches (image)
Medium: Etching
More » Inscription: "J. Steensma/1990," lower right
Subjects: house and figurative
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1990
Collection... [more]
Untitled

Untitled

Date: Unknown
Image Dimensions: 7 x 7 1/4 inches (image)
Medium: gouache
More » Inscription: "J. Steensma," lower right
Subjects: abstract and building
Provenance: Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1990
Collection... [more]