Journey of the Opera Star

Mark Tobey, generally regarded as the foremost painter of the Northwest School, lived in Seattle from 1923 to 1960. His work is strongly influenced by Asian art and philosophy. He, in turn, became an important influence on other artists of the region.

In Journey of the Opera Star, reputedly his first collage, Tobey combines images and text from a number of sources to create an abstract map to an antic world of performers and performances. In the lower right hand corner, Tobey placed a photograph of himself casually smoking a cigarette, both watching and participating in the spectacle he has created.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Hauberg in 1964. The mural was commissioned by the Haubergs for the Worlds Fair, but it was delivered two years later. Tobey’s only full scale public work in Seattle.