James L. Haseltine

From the artist's obituary. To see the full text visit http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?pid=165845269

[accessed July 26, 2017]

James Haseltine graduated from U.S. Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) in 1943 and immediately afterwards shipped out to Europe, serving as a U.S. Army infantryman in World War II. On his return to Portland, Jim attended Reed College and began his formal study of art and artists at Portland's Museum Art School (147, 1949), then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (1947-48) and the Brooklyn Museum School in New York (1950-51).

Jim played a key role in the development of the emerging Northwest arts scene, serving as a trustee of the Portland Art Museum, a founding member of the Portland Arts Commission, on the National Endowment for the Arts, and as local chapter chairman and then national director of the Artists Equity Association, which established rights for artists in Portland and nationally. In 1961, Jim was named Director of the Salt Lake City Center for the Arts and, in 1967, became Executive Director of the Washington State Arts Commission.

In addition to arts advocacy, Jim was an accomplished artist himself; he exhibited widely around the country and his work was recognized with numerous awards,