Previously Unknown Painting of Puget Sound by Emily Denny

Denny, Emily Inez (1853-1918). Untitled. 51" x 37", framed; the image is approximately 38" x 14". Dated 1888, with the signature "E I Denny '88" faint but visible in the lower left hand corner.

The view is a maritime landscape of Puget Sound, appearing to be a view which looks south from the northern part of the Sound, somewhere between Edmonds and Bellingham.

Emily Denny was the first child of Seattle pioneers David Denny and Louisa Boren. In her 1909 autobiographical work "Blazing the Way; True stories, songs and sketches of Puget Sound and other pioneers", she states that she was "the first child of the first white family established at Elliott Bay."

As an artist, Emily Inez Denny's work is accomplished, and a few of her depictions of early days in Seattle have become iconic representations of the period. Her painting "Fort Decatur, January 26, 1856" relates a famous scene from the "Indian Attack on Seattle"; it is held at the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle, along with numerous other pieces of hers. Her painting "Indian Camp on Lake Union" has been recently restored and was a centerpiece for an exhibit titled 'Nature in the Balance'. As a result of several different donations, MOHAI has the largest collection of Emily Inez Denny work; a large number of pieces are also held privately by the family, and her work is rarely seen offered in the market.

This painting is a magnificent example from Emily Inez Denny's oeuvre, the work of a pioneer child from Seattle, and an accomplished artist of the region from this time. $42,500.00