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From These Hills, From These Waters

Douglas Cooper

King County Courthouse

Black and white murals present an evocative look at King County history.

Douglas Cooper. From These Hills, From These Waters (detail), 2005. Charcoal on paper on board. King County Courthouse, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Spike Mafford

Stories of King County history, places, and people play out across this series of graphite and charcoal murals, which depict scenes that span from Puget Sound to the Cascades over 200 hundred years.

In telling these stories, the murals eschew chronological time, mixing together elements from different eras.
I believe that the meaning of locales is not just what they are at any given point in time, but what they were in some former time or might become at some future time. The portrayal of Native Americans in modern dress in ancient surroundings is one kind of result. The showing of three historic King County Courthouses in one view is another. –Douglas Cooper

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Douglas Cooper. From These Hills, From These Waters (detail), 2005. Charcoal on paper on board. King County Courthouse, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Spike Mafford
Douglas Cooper. From These Hills, From These Waters (detail), 2005. Charcoal on paper on board. King County Courthouse, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Spike Mafford
Douglas Cooper. From These Hills, From These Waters (detail), 2005. Charcoal on paper on board with clock. King County Courthouse, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Spike Mafford

About the Location

King County Courthouse

The King County Courthouse is a landmark building in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square district. Over the years, it has grown and changed to accommodate a booming population, advances in technology, and earthquake retrofits. Today the Courthouse remains a hub of government activity, housing the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of King County. The Courthouse and…

Read more about the art and artists at King County Courthouse. More >