He was a marine in World War II. After being wounded in the Solomon Islands during the war, and spending ten months in the hospital, he came home to hold jobs such as ranch hand, merchant seaman and logger while opening a studio in Pioneer Square. He was encouraged in this endeavor by Tobey and Graves.

In 1948, his oil “Young Bird” was accepted into the Seattle Art Museum’s Northwest Annual Exhibition and was one of several purchased by the museum for its permanent collection. After traveling in Europe and getting to know Pablo Picasso, he found his interest lay in painting nature, particularly the Skagit Valley landscapes of his childhood.

Gilkey was recognized with one-man shows in Seattle and LaConner and many other venues. His work is in the collections of many individuals and permanent collections of many museums. In 1958 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1990 he received the Washington State Governor’s Art Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to art in Washington State. His crowning achievement came in 1990 when he was named the grand prize winner of the Osaka Triennale Exhibition for his oil entitled “August Field”. This was a juried competition that drew 30,000 entries from 60 countries around the world.

We are fortunate to have a Gilkey painting in our collection here at Ballard High School, hanging over the entrance to the library. It is called “Journey” and was painted in 1966. Mr. Gilkey died in 1997.