Overlooked no more. Olympia puts one of Lynette Charters’ ‘missing women’ on AW map cover
Lynette Charters, whose paintings call attention to the many ways women have been overlooked, is one of Olympia’s more celebrated artists. Her work has been shown in galleries in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and internationally.
Now Charters has received an accolade that, while it might not mean much outside of Thurston County, is arguably Olympia’s highest artistic honor: One of her pieces is on the cover of the map for Spring 2025 Arts Walk, happening Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, in downtown Olympia.
The twice-yearly event showcases the talents of artists and performers ranging from kindergarteners to pros and serves as a citywide block party of sorts, with activities for children, street performers, craft markets and more.
“Community is so important right now, and this is an event that kind of brings everybody into town, including people who wouldn’t necessarily spend time looking at art,” Charters said. “There are just a few times in the year when we can bump into each other and connect.”
“Missing Josephine Corliss Preston,” a portrait of the first woman elected to statewide public office in Washington, is part of Charters’ Matilda Effect series, named for the work of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a 19th-century suffragist who publicized women’s achievements. Charters is continuing that work, painting trailblazing women on repurposed household objects.
For the Arts Walk cover, Charters proposed creating a Matilda Effect portrait of a local woman whose contributions were little recognized, and the jury loved the idea, said Arts Walk coordinator E. Jessica Strauss Tomy.
“Lynette explored finding women (who are) often overlooked but who had a big impact on our history,” Strauss Tomy said. “She demonstrated a unique vision.”
Preston — an educator who advocated for fair housing — became the Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1913, just three years after Washington women won the right to vote. She is shown on the brightly patterned floral cover of a spiral notebook.
“Preston” and other works will be on view for Arts Walk at Ossa Skinworks, 109 Capitol Way N., Olympia, one of 116 locations serving as galleries, performance spaces and gathering places for the weekend art festival.
Included in the show are pieces from Charters’ Missing Women and Missing Parents series, which reinterpret older, often well-known paintings to comment on the way women and caregivers are relegated to the background by replacing skin with unpainted wood; knots in the wood often represent eyes or nipples.
“Women are presented but not represented in art, society and history,” the artist writes on her website.
Olympia Arts Walk
- What: Olympia’s twice-yearly arts celebration fills downtown with art, music, dance — and people.
- When: 6-10 p.m. Friday, April 25, and noon-6 p.m. Saturday, April 26
- Where: Downtown Olympia, with street closure at Fifth Avenue from Washington to Jefferson streets
- Maps: Find maps, featuring Lynette Charters’ “Missing Josephine Corliss Preston,” at participating businesses and at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW.
- More information: http://artswalkoly.com