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Weekly Art Hit: ‘Ex-Patriot’ by Ross Palmer Beecher

Thanksgiving is upon us, and in the spirit of New England Americana, here’s Ross Palmer Beecher’s mixed-media Ex-Patriot (1986).

When Beecher moved here from New England, she missed it a great deal, especially some of the more evident imagery from “Yankee” heritage. She began to use folk art imagery in her work, featuring painted, carved wood with framing and found objects. Ex-Patriot is a 15-by-12-inch piece made of paint on wood and tin.

Beecher said, “Folk art is made from objects at your fingertips.  Wood scraps are abundant in the Pacific Northwest.  So basically I dug around Seattle for wood scraps, tin cans, other people’s litter.  I collected whatever looked to be potential art makings.”

Ex-Patriot is part of Seattle City Light’s 1% for Art Portable Works Collection.

Image: Ross Palmer Beecher, Ex-Patriot, 1986, mixed media.