Artwork copyright Caroline Orr. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Artwork copyright Caroline Orr. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Untitled, 1990

Caroline Orr
(American | Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation | Lillooet Okanagan, born 1943)

Location: Seattle Central College, Seattle

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This piece is part of a series of circular murals by artist Caroline Orr. Comprised of imagery derived from different world cultures, these works celebrate and honor nature and our ancestors. Each figure and motif references a different mythical symbol found in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, or the Americas. This panel depicts birds amid a starry sky in what Orr terms "the upperworld."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Seattle Central Community College.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist Caroline Orr (Lillooet Okanogan) creates paintings, prints, and sculptures influenced by her Native American heritage and the stories passed down by her ancestors. Orr grew up on the Okanogan plateau of North-Central Washington. She notes "Beginning my life on a reservation cattle ranch, I have always been inspired by nature and my native heritage, taught to me by the legends of my grandparents. Art... has helped me to express my appreciation for these stories and the wisdom of my ancestors." The Okanogan Tribe's traditional territory spans the U.S.-Canada boundary in Washington and British Columbia.

Orr earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1965) in art from the University of Washington in Seattle, a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1973) from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1977) in painting from the University of Washington in Seattle.