Virginia Banks, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, was born in 1920. She received her Bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1941 and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa. After her marriage to Arthur W. Freidinger, a psychiatrist, she moved with him to Seattle in the mid-1950s.

Her career as an artist flourished and she became part of the circle of well-known Northwest artists who made Seattle their home during the period. Banks created paintings in watercolor and oils, and worked in other media as well. She held shows of her work in both Seattle and New York City.

Virginia Banks also taught at the Cornish College of the Arts. She died at her home in Seattle on February 7, 1985.

Source:
Virginia Banks papers 1881-1980 (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)
socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=banks-virginia-cr.xml

Virginia Banks grew up in Massachusetts and attended Smith College, earned a B.A. in art, and began exhibiting work after completing her M.A. She then taught at Seattle-area colleges, including the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts. She married in 1946 and travelled extensively for many years.

Her works were shown at New York's Brooklyn Museum, Whitney Museum, Seattle Art Museum and countless other institutions. Her peer group included the Big Four, and she exhibited alongside them at the Zoe Dusanne Gallery (the first professional modern gallery in Seattle, opened in 1950), yet there was little information about Banks in books.

Her work it typical for a Northwest artist. She tried her hand at white writing, the Zen-influenced scribbles that Tobey and Graves fought over, each claiming authorship. (For all we know, Banks could have pioneered this style of painting.) Her work during the 1950s was of primarily surreal marine scenes, and of portraits in bright colors, which are most admired by Pacific Galleries buyers.