A Pacific Northwest native, Catherine Person was raised with a family
tradition of entrepreneurship. Her Russian grandfather, Max Person,
immigrated to San Francisco in 1915, and made Seattle his home a year
later. Max was a natural salesman and soon became self-employed,
running his own businesses for more than fifty years. Catherine’s
father, Dave, ran a successful real estate firm for forty years in
King County.
Catherine graduated from the Evergreen State College in 1976 and after
a five month stay working in Hawaii, moved to Seattle in 1977.
She had the good fortune of finding free-lance work in the local art
scene soon after arrival and produced a number of projects for One
Reel and The Bumbershoot Arts Festival.
In 1987, Catherine opened her art advisory firm in Seattle to support
independent artists, working with everyone from first-time buyers to
corporate curators. Clients have included Nordstrom, Microsoft,
Unisys, Boeing, Safeco, Puget Sound Energy, Olson Kundig Architects,
Swedish Medical Center and the Westin Hotel in Lincoln Square.
From September 2005 – June 2011, Catherine Person Gallery was located
in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square, with a focus on contemporary
art by artists from Tokyo to Tasmania and from around the United
States – but who are mainly working and residing in the Pacific
Northwest. Catherine continues to place fine art in corporate and residential
collections, working from a private office and enjoying life
without the constraints of a brick and mortar business.
Catherine represented retail businesses on the Pioneer Square
Preservation Board for four years, which oversees all exterior
architectural changes to storefronts, sidewalks, parks and new
construction through a review process.
Seattle Times, May 2011 on Catherine Person Gallery:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2014969601_person06.html
Seattle Channel 21′s Art Zone has a new program called ‘Gallery Hop’
with Nancy Guppy. The CPG interview is at:
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3280703
