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Orré Nobles Photograph Collection, approximately 1920-1940

Overview of the Collection

Title
Orré Nobles Photograph Collection
Dates
approximately 1920-1940 (inclusive)
Quantity
91 photographs (1 folder)
Collection Number
PH0586
Summary
Photographs relating to the life of Washington State artist Orré Nelson Nobles.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Selections from the collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Northwest artist Orré Nelson Nobles was born on April 18, 1894, in Sumter, Minnesota. After relocating several times, the Nobles family finally settled in Tacoma, Washington. Orré graduated from Tacoma High School and spent two years teaching in a small school at Tahuya on Hood Canal. This was followed by several years serving as a merchant seaman in such locations as South America and the Orient. Nobles continued to travel throughout his life.

Nobles attended Pratt Institute in New York City where he studied art for two years. He then taught arts and crafts for a summer at the University of Washington. Nobles was a teacher in the Arts and Crafts Department at Ballard High School in Seattle for more than thirty years. During the early 1920s, he and his family created Olympus Manor, a successful artist colony located on the shores of Hood Canal at Union where painters, musicians, writers, sculptors, and dancers gathered to pursue their creative aspirations. Nobles designed a grand music room in 1923 in order to enlarge the family house. At the official opening of the music room in the summer of 1925, artists from the Cornish School in Seattle presented an elaborate program for the guests. In the fall of 1945, Nobles purchased a vacant lot on James Street, above what was then Chinatown in Seattle and with the help of his family, built a tiny house which he called Windy Cliff. Orré Nobles died on December 14, 1967, at Windy Cliff.

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Content Description

The collection contains photographs relating to the life of Orré Nelson Nobles. It has been arranged in nine sections. The first part includes three portraits of Orré Nobles. The second part, consisting of photographs taken at Olympus Manor on Hood Canal and including photos of some of Nobles's friends and relatives. In addition, there are two photographs of the music room at Olympus Manor. The third part of the collection includes two photographs of the Smith Tower in downtown Seattle, taken from Windy Cliff. Henry H. Hussey's Beijing Compound is the fourth part of the collection. The fifth is related to ferrys and boats. The sixth part show scenes from China and the Nobles wearing Chinese dress. The seventh and eight parts show scenes from an amusement park and Hawaii. The last part is a mix of family trips.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donor: Gift of Erna Spannagel Tilley, before 2001, 13 photographs.

Donor: Gift of Graham J. Wright, November 15, 2010, 73 negatives.

Processing Note

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2002. Processed by Kaylynn Guerra, May 2019.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Art teachers--Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Artist colonies--Washington (State)--Hood Canal Region
  • Artists--Homes and haunts--Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Artists--Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Nobles, Orré (Orré Nelson), 1894-1967--Homes and haunts--Photographs
  • Nobles, Orré (Orré Nelson), 1894-1967--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Olympus Manor (Union, Wash.)--Photographs


2003 (Last modified: 12/15/2021)

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