Art is often treasured both by those who own it and by a wider community. Sometimes, the artist is treasured too. That’s the case with Bernie Webber.
Ask those who know Everett or Snohomish County about Webber, and the first words are likely to be, "He is such a treasure."
The depth of artists’ ability to connect with people over time was brought home again by a recent Webber exhibit on the mayors of Everett. Webber, a lifelong resident of the area, gave the city something it had never had: a record of what its mayors looked like. Working from photos of greatly varying quality, Webber painted 32 of the 34 mayors (no photos could be found of the other two). As in many Webber works, the backgrounds included images from their eras.
No one knows the places and images of Snohomish County like Webber. Or works so hard and so joyfully to capture the place and the times.
Local historian Larry O’Donnell recalls tromping through swamps and fields helping Webber do research for murals that grace 20 Everett district schools. He marveled at Webber’s ability to capture both places and the way people live at a particular moment in time. Even the mishaps of research through south county fields, though, reflected Webber’s belief that, whatever one does in life, it should include an element of fun.
Webber, 78, is especially well known for the murals at numerous public buildings and for his landscape watercolors. With the enormous, varied talents built up over a lifetime, though, Webber is at home in almost any medium. Webber studied at a demanding California art school and, unlike most of his buddies who tried their hand in New York for a time, he applied himself to developing what became a 34-year career as a commercial artist. To succeed — a necessity with the large family he and his wife, Joy, raised — he had to know how to do everything in the creation of visual images — without computers. His graphic arts business was highly respected, numbering major corporations and institutions among its clients.
His subsequent decades of painting and fine arts have left a rich heritage. His work not only portrays the geography and history of this region but also fits impressively into local art history. Webber’s work is a reminder that, whatever the oddities of trying to create art for an area often insecure about itself and obsessed with economic development, visual arts have a rich past and a promising future here. An uncle, Arnie Jensen, had a distinguished artistic career. Two of Webber’s daughters are artists.
It isn’t just with art that Webber is leaving a mark on the county. He has received awards for his volunteer work, including the Henry M. Jackson Citizen of the Year Award. And his donations of paintings and prints have changed the course of numerous fund-raising efforts.
David Dilgard, history specialist at Everett Library, says that the city’s art history is particularly rich, dating back to the time of the city’s founding. Three of the four Northwest Mystic school of painters made their homes in the county. While art fashions change unpredictably, Dilgard believes Webber’s work will have lasting relevance for those who care about this region. Referring to a philosophical thought about an unexamined life, Dilgard says that Webber work elevates all of us, guarding against any local danger that "the unexamined place is not worth living in." In 50 years, Dilgard said, people will place even more value on Webber’s work and it "is going to be treasured."
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