Constance Fowler: Tradition and Transition
Constance Fowler, Beach Cliff, 1932, oil on Masonite panel, 26 in. x 31 in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of the family of Constance Fowler, 2002.027.
Constance Fowler, Heceta Lighthouse, c. 1938, oil on canvas, 22 in. x 18 in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of Connie Battaile, BAT97.001.
Constance Fowler, Waller Hall, 1938-40 (reprinted 1969), wood engraving, 6 ½ in. x 6 in., gift of Constance Fowler, FOW92.003.
As a printmaker, Fowler made her name with the publication of her book The Old Days in and Near Salem, Oregon (Seattle: Dogwood Press, 1940), which presents twenty wood engravings of historic structures and sites in the Willamette Valley. Created as her master thesis project at the University of Oregon, the prints combine historical documentation with emotional intensity conveyed by means of heavily incised chisel marks, distortion of form, and brooding light and dark contrasts.
Constance Fowler, Untitled (landscape abstraction), c. 1930s, gouache on paper, 12 ¾ in. x 11 1/8 in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of Florence Kubin, KUB94.001.
Constance Fowler, South Bridge, Salem, Oregon, c. 1940, oil on canvas, 27 in. x 23 in., collection of Matt and Judy Wilder.
Constance Fowler, Shorebirds, 1960, linoleum cut, 16 in. x 20 in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of Linda and Greg Nelson, 2011.029.007.
Constance Fowler, Low Tide, c. 1975, oil on canvas, 22 ½ in. x 26 ½ in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of Joey Hadfield, 2001.001.001.
Constance Fowler, Untitled (Wave and Spray), 1993, oil on Masonite, 36 in. x 48 in., collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, gift of Constance Fowler, FOW94.07.
