Environmental Solitude: Wes Wehr and the Art of Connection

Seattle-based artist and paleo-botanist Wes Wehr (1929-2004) nurtured strong ties to eastern Washington in two different realms. In the late 1980s and early 90s, as he took part in three important exhibits that helped enhance the Cheney Cowles Museum’s Northwest art collection, Wehr played a key role in the establishment of Republic, Washington’s now famous Stonerose Fossil Center, a spectacular array of Eocene leaf fossils for public enjoyment and education. Drawing on interviews and research from his new book “Ancient Places,” Nisbet traces Wehr’s mercurial character and visual influence on two very different museums.