Born in Seattle in 1957, Terry Pyles has been involved in art from the age of three, when he was enrolled in a program for gifted children at the University of Washington School of Art.  He came to Alaska for a summer job at Bell Island Hot Springs in 1975, on the day of his high school graduation, and he’s been here ever since.

During his first years in Ketchikan, Terry earned his living at a variety of jobs, including a year as caretaker at an isolated property on Hidden Inlet and a stint as co-owner (with Lou Cacioppo) of a commercial art studio.  Throughout that time, he continued to produce and improve his art.  Since the early 1980s, he has been a full-time artist.

Terry is best known for his dynamic, realistic paintings of Alaskan wildlife; but he is equally skilled as a painter of landscapes, still life, and marine and aviation subjects.  He sculpts in fiberglass and epoxy, wood, and other materials, and he also works in ceramics, stained glass, mosaic, lamp-work glass, and computer graphics.

This exhibition traces the art of Terry Pyles from 1965 (2nd Grade!) to the present.  With the exception of two paintings from the Museum’s collection, all of the artworks displayed here are on loan from local residents or the artist himself.  Taken together, they demonstrate the ever-evolving talent of one of Ketchikan’s most accomplished – and prolific – artists.