Northwest Salmon Fishermen
1941
Realism notably took hold in America during the Great Depression, and it persisted throughout the 1930s as an often humorous and always populist reflection of the received histories associated with the nation’s diverse regions. Zallinger’s hilarious take on the infamous Seattle Times’s fishing derby of 1940 is a specifically Northwest iteration of American regionalism. He reinterprets this storied event as a commentary on greed and the corrupting influence of money, showing us the dubious characters who entered the fishing contest because they believed the sport was one of luck and not skill. Indeed, the derby was scandalized by cheating in this, its inaugural, year, leading to the widespread feeling among sportsmen that huge jackpots had degraded the sport.
Tempera on pressed fiber board, in artist-made engaged frame
25 3/4 x 35 5/8 in. (65.4 x 90.5 cm)
In artist-made engaged frame, 27 7/8 x 37 7/8 in.
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
43.34
Tempera on pressed fiber board, in artist-made engaged frame, 25 3/4 x 35 5/8 in. (65.4 x 90.5 cm)
In artist-made engaged frame, 27 7/8 x 37 7/8 in.
, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 43.34
Provenance: The artist; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1943