Wright Auction

RUTH PUMPHREY was an artist and journalist hailing from the American Pacific Northwest. Her artistic endeavors primarily revolved around painted and burnished ceramics, with a focus on sculptural forms characterized by organic and flowing shapes. During the 1970s, Pumphrey embarked on a unique journey, residing on a houseboat off the coast of Fir Island in the La Conner region. Here, she embraced the countercultural ethos of disconnecting from societal norms and immersing herself deeper into nature. Influenced by the teachings of the renowned Northwest artist, Clayton James, Pumphrey also drew inspiration from the works of Barbara Hepworth, Jean Arp, and Henry Moore, as well as ancient Aztec sculpture and Inuit design.

While predominantly based in Seattle throughout her life, Pumphrey made significant contributions to the field of journalism, particularly as a trailblazer for women in the industry. Alongside her artistic pursuits in her home studio, she distinguished herself in her career with notable roles at news outlets such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and King TV.

If asked to select one word to describe Patrick, I would resist and pick two. The first would be curiosity — a fundamental essential, to stimulate inquiry and rigour in all things, both great and small, of any era or region, type or surface. Even the most fleeting survey of this selection for sale is a celebration of innovation and of inspiration — an unerring eye for the unusually exceptional, or perhaps the exceptionally unusual. The chances are, that these are indeed discoveries that you have not yet realised that you needed to make. 

Mentor, would be my second word. If artefacts and objects articulate visual, cultural and historic language, then the fluency of skillful mentorship — to guide, nurture, describe and explain — releases the eloquence of murmuring histories. In this capacity Patrick is that most earnest and sincere of excellent narrators. If ever I had friends, clients or colleagues visiting New York looking for unusual inspiration, there was always the certainty that Patrick’s venues would offer them a glimpse of the hitherto unseen or the unusually seductive, always with the reassurance of the most fascinating story waiting to be told.