One of Seattle's most accomplished artist's, Dorothy Rising had a career that spanned over eight decades. She was born in Tacoma and attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and also studied with Henry G. Keller at the Cleveland Art Institute. Keller and his students favored watercolor and other water- based mediums, which likely had a lasting influence on Rising. She also studied at the University of Washington where she received her B.F.A. and M.F.A.

Rising's interest in Modernism stemmed from her studies with Keller who had exhibited at the Armory Show in 1913. This approach was reinforced at the University of Washington working under Walter Isaacs and Ambrose Patterson, both of whom had inter...