[Note! 1:30-3:30 p.m. – Participate in an information display of artists’ books! (See bottom for more information!)]
No Woman Has Ventured As Far: The Art and Adventures of Abby Williams Hill
Sat. Nov. 20, 2010
3 – 4 p.m.
Collins Library, Rm. 020
University of Puget Sound
As part of the City of Tacoma’s Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month, Collins Memorial Library at University of Puget Sound will host Karen Haas, historian, educator, and award-winning living history performer in No Woman Has Ventured As Far: The Art and Adventures of Abby Williams Hill.
Tacoma, Wash. – Award-winning historian, educator, and living history performer Karen Haas will bring landscape painter and activist Abby Williams Hill to life in her one-woman performance No Woman Has Ventured As Far: The Art and Adventures of Abby Williams Hill. Refreshments will be served after the performance.
Adventurous and unconventional, Abby Williams Hill (1861–1943) was born in Grinnell, Iowa, educated at the Art Students League in New York, and moved to the City of Destiny with her husband in 1889. Their first residence was in the original downtown Chamber of Commerce building. Later they built and resided in The Hillcrest Apartments, which still stand across from Wright Park.
Between 1903 and 1906, Hill accepted four commissions from the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads. The commissions allowed for extended stays in the North Cascades and at Yellowstone National Park, and resulted in many of the striking landscapes that are on display in Jones Hall, Collins Memorial Library, and elsewhere on campus. Hill was also the founding president of the Washington state chapter of the Congress of Mothers (today’s PTA) and advocated on behalf of disadvantaged children and families.
Tacoma resident Karen Haas was the recipient of the Association of King County Historical Organization’s 2005 Heritage Education Award. Her living history presentations have been featured at Fort Clatsop, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, and the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Her repertoire includes Tacoma’s own Thea Foss and missionary Narcissa Whitman.
About Hill Haas says, “At a time when women were supposed to wear dainty shoes and be decorative in a stuffy room, Abby put on boots, hiked into her beloved wilderness, and created paintings that convey both the timelessness and vitality of the landscape of the American West. One can easily imagine her rolling her eyes at those folks who were too ‘civilized’ to keep up with her adventures.”
*Get more information on this event, Abby Williams Hill, or press-quality photos.
*See information about living history performer Karen Haas.
(see website for directions and parking information.)
Before the Performance: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Participate in “A Page Turning” Event sponsored by the new organization, Puget Sound Book Artists. Puget Sound Book Artists is a new organization comprised of individuals from all quarters of the book arts field for the purpose of creating a spirit of community. Participate in an information display of artists’ books from 1:30 to 3:30 on Saturday November 20th.
Be amazed and inspired by a selection of unique artists’ books on display from local area artists. Learn about the Puget Sound Book Arts group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting all aspects of the books arts.
To sign up: contact jcarlin@pugetsound.edu to reserve a display space by NOVEMBER 15th. Participants will be responsible for their own books. Please bring books that can be handled and enjoyed. Each artist will have an 11×17 space for display. Set-up: 1:00 p.m.
(see website for directions and parking information.)