About The State
Art Collection

Artwork acquired through Washington’s Art in Public Places Program becomes part of the State Art Collection—a collection of over 4,500 works of art located at state agencies, public schools, colleges and universities throughout the state. The State Art Collection represents a wide variety of media and content and makes Washington home to one of the nation’s largest, most diverse public art collections. Notable local, regional, and national artists are represented in the collection holdings.

Established by legislation in 1974, the Washington State Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places Program is funded through the state’s capital construction budget. Each time a new state building is built, ½ of 1% of the state portion of construction costs are used to acquire artwork. Following an established process, community representatives develop criteria, select artists, and review proposals for new artwork.

Visit our on-line gallery for a sample of work in the collection.

No. 8 • John Brown’s first thought of the place
where he would make his attack came to him
while surveying land for Oberlin College in
West Virginia.