Burke Museum Reflections

Dr. Simon Ottenberg was a generous donor of artworks to the Burke Museum's Arts & Cultures Department over many decades. Simon loved the contemporary graphic arts of the local Coast Salish tribes and made it a goal to acquire and support local artists for his own personal collection. As his collection grew, Simon connected with the curators at the Burke Museum to see if the museum was interested in acquiring contemporary prints and paintings. Both parties realized that his collection could fill a significant gap in the contemporary Salish arts at the museum. Simon's first donation of prints was in 1986, and he continued to acquire and donate art for the next thirty-two years (Fig. 1). He was especially connected to Upper Skagit artist Ronald A. Hilbert-Coy and acquired over fifty of his artworks, which were donated to the Burke Museum. Simon authored a book on Hilbert-Coy's art, which was published in 2019. (For images of Hilbert's work, see pp. 16-17, Figs. 1-2 in Bierwert's reflections, this issue).The collection of contemporary Salish arts is an important resource for local indigenous artists, art history students, and researchers. Many emerging artists spend time at the Burke studying the historical and contemporary artworks from their communities—it's a place of continual learning and as such, a wonderful home for Simon's generous donations.