Margaret Callahan: Mother Of Northwest Art

It was l929. Margaret Bundy, a young journalist with an interest in literature, jazz, and politics, worked for a Seattle weekly called the Town Crier. Assigned to review the Northwest Annual art show she met a struggling young painter named Kenneth Callahan. In l930 Kenneth and Margaret eloped. Though not a perfect union, they were mutually distressed by the Great Depression and shared a love for travel as well as a love for the Cascade Mountains, where in l938 they rented a woodcutter's shack in the Robe Valley near Granite Falls, Washington for fifteen dollars a year. The Callahan's circle in Seattle included many who subsequently became well-known, as did Kenneth, in the world of arts and letters. Her observations provide insight into the characters of these well-known personalities. But Margaret's interest in people was not limited to those in the art world. She was equally attracted to many of the pioneers and working people she met. She and Kenneth used the expression a real person' to describe someone they found of value. Margaret brings to life many real' people who, regardless of social status or wealth, have fascinating stories to tell. This memoir is compiled from her earliest recollections until her untimely death at the age of fifty-seven in l96l. 1904 1961. Child of Mabel Upton (Chicago University Medical School) and Edward Bundy (self-educated lawyer in Seattle). Graduated l924 from the University of Washington School of Journalism. Reporter for the Seattle Star newspaper. Edited the weekly Town Crier. Later wrote features for the Seattle Times. Married Kenneth Callahan in l930. Traveled to Mexico, Europe, and Central America. Active in the Seattle political scene of the l930s. Son born in l938. Subsequently, divided her time between Seattle and a cabin in the Robe Valley in Washington's Cascade Range. Margaret compulsively recorded her thoughts and impressions about everything: the people she knew, political events, and her intense love of nature. ForeWord Clarion Book Review… (more)