Worth Griffin, who joined Washington State College as its second art faculty member in 1924, spent nearly nine months in southern Mexico in the mid-1930s, making portraits and sketches of the people and things he saw. This fall, his work will be the centerpiece of an exhibit at the WSU Tri-Cities Art Center.
“They really show what people were like in those times. They’re people doing things in daily life, like carrying water from a well or washing laundry, or going to market or preparing for market,” said Dave Fitzsimmons, who inherited the works from his mother, the artist’s cousin-in-law.
We are pleased “to showcase a number of vibrant, representational paintings, sketches, and portraits detailing Griffin’s 1935 residency in Mexico,” said Peter Christenson, an assistant professor of fine arts and the art center’s curator. He added that the works are of “deep cultural and historical significance and highlight WSU’s longstanding institutional commitment to the arts.”
Find out more
- Read more about the show in the TriCity Herald
- Read more about Worth Griffin’s career and his influence on fine arts in Washington State Magazine.