Telling Stories: Selections from the Permanent Collection

October 14, 2006 – September 21, 2008

Telling Stories included about forty pieces, many of them visitor favorites from the museum’s collection. Several were recent acquisitions that had never been on view as part of the permanent collection before. Each piece explored how artists capture the spirit and essence of narrative tales. Sections of the exhibition were divided into character, represented by portraiture; setting, through landscape and still life; and plot development and resolution, through figurative works. Visitors were invited to share their musings with the entire community by writing the wall-label text, answering the question “what part of the story does this image represent?” Every few months new labels were created from visitor submissions.

Read a selection of visitor stories  (PDF).

This exhibition was organized by Tacoma Art Museum. Telling Stories was generously supported by Robert Half International and the members of Tacoma Art Museum’s Patron circle. Additional support was provided by the Nilan family in honor of Winona Nilan, a woman wise with words and stories, and a strong supporter of the arts.