Jay Steensma (1941–1994), also known as J. Steensma, was an American artist, primarily a painter, sometimes described by reviewers as a later-day exponent of the
Northwest School of artists. He was known for his extremely prolific output, and, at times, unusual media (such as latex house paint on brown paper shopping bags). Chalices, snakes, houses, clouds, birds, and fish were frequent subjects in his work. He was one of the more successful artists in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s and 90s, but had longstanding health problems, and died in Seattle at age 52.
Life and career
John Jay Steensma (
Frisian; trans., 'stonemason') was born December 8, 1941, in
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...
, the eldest son of John and Oliva Steensma, and was raised in nearby
Belmont, Washington
Belmont is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Whitman County, Washington, Whitman County, Washington (state), Washington, United States.
History
Because it is not tracked by the U.S. Census, a Census population estimate is not a ...
. He moved to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
in 1959 to attend the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
School of Art, where influential teachers included Walter F. Isaacs, Spencer Moseley, Bob Jones, and Wendell Brazeau. While there he won a prize in the Northwest Printmakers Annual at the
Henry Art Gallery.
[Matthew Kangas. ''J. Steensma: A Retrospective'', exhibition notes, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, 1997]
[Wesley Wehr. ''The Accidental Collector: Art, Fossils, & Friendships''. University of Washington Press, 2004. .]
After receiving his
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases.
Background
The Bachelor ...
degree in 1962
he studied with
Morris Graves, and befriended
Mark Tobey
Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...
,
Guy Anderson
Guy Anderson (November 20, 1906 – April 30, 1998) was an American artist known primarily for his oil painting who lived most of his life in the Puget Sound region of the United States. His work is in the collections of numerous museums inc ...
, and other artists of the original Northwest School. He briefly worked at the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in New York City, then in 1965 returned to Seattle, where he taught at the
Cornish College of the Arts.
From the early 1960s Steensma's work was shown in Seattle galleries such as the Kinorn and Francine Seders, and in 1965 he won First Prize in painting at the Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Fair in
Bellevue, Washington;
however, he suffered from manic-depressive illness, and by the mid-70s his erratic behavior had largely alienated him from the arts community. He was at times institutionalized, and didn't have another exhibition until 1985, at Seattle's Jackson Street Gallery.
After this comeback, Steensma's art received considerable acclaim, and was included in exhibitions at the
Seattle Art Museum, the
Whatcom Museum of History and Art
The Whatcom Museum (housed in the Old City Hall, Lightcatcher building and Syre Education Center) was originally built in 1892 as the city hall for the former town of New Whatcom, before it was joined with surrounding towns to form Bellingham, Was ...
, the
Cheney Cowles Museum, at Mia Gallery in Seattle and galleries in Chicago, San Diego, and Portland, Oregon.
Wrote arts journalist Regina Hackett: ''His paintings
remuted in color. Beneath their delicacy is an awkward vitality. Instead of moments of enlightenment, however, he specialized in moments of acute and resounding alienation. He was an artist brave enough to persist in spite of a daunting disability. Along with being immensely afflicted, he was immensely gifted. With a few strokes, he could render a landscape that reverberates with visual meaning, a mood stated with the barest of means.''
Since the 1970s Steensma lived in Seattle's Greenlake neighborhood with close friend and fellow artist Ree Brown. He was friends with Wes Wehr, who often went with Jay for drawing sessions at area coffeehouses. Wehr collected works by Steensma that he later donated to a number of museums around the northwest. He died in Seattle on October 7, 1994, at the age of 52.
[Ree Brown (short film), produced by Nancy Guppy for the Seattle Channel; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtlVox3BFXM#t=71]
A memorial exhibition was held at the Henry Art Gallery in 1995, and Seattle's Center on Contemporary Art held a major retrospective in 1997. His artwork is in the collections of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
and of all major art museums in the Pacific Northwest.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steensma, Jay
1941 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American painters
American male painters
People from Moscow, Idaho
Artists from Idaho
Painters from Seattle
People from Whitman County, Washington
Cornish College of the Arts faculty
20th-century American male artists