Last updated: September 15, 2023
Place
Alfredo Arreguin & Susan Lytle House and Studio
Photo by Susan Johnson courtesy of Washington State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
Seattle, Washington
Significance:
Art, Ethnic Heritage-Hispanic
Designation:
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference number: 100007697
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private
The Alfredo Arreguin & Susan Lytle House and Studio, located in Seattle, Washington, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. The property is significant as the home and studio of Mexican American painter Alfredo Arreguin. Arreguin was known for his contributions to the Pattern and Decoration movement, which was prominent during the mid-1970s through the 1980s.
Alfredo Arreguin was born in Morelia, Mexico in 1935. His talent as an artist was recognized at an early age and he recalled that his grandfather was the first to encourage his artistic talent, buying him colored pencils, brushes and paint. At age eight, Arreguín became the youngest pupil at the Morelia School of Fine Art.
Arreguin immigrated to Seattle in the 1956, and enrolled in the University of Washington. Studying alongside artists Dale Chihuily, Chuck Close, and Roger Shimomura, he received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts. Throughout the early 1970s, Arreguin developed a local reputation for his colorful oil paintings, inspired by Mexican folk culture, the flora and fauna from the jungles he spent time in as a youth, and the natural landscape of the Pacific Northwest. His work embraced the use of pattern and repetition; his skill in incorporating patterns from different sources made him a pioneer in the Pattern and Decoration (or P&D) movement, which intentionally blurred the line between art and design. The movement favored patterns appropriated from a global array of textiles, ceramics and architecture but also from previously disregarded Americana like quilting, embroidery and cake decoration.
In 1977, Arreguin reached national attention when he was selected as one of the artists to represent the United States at the 11th International Festival of Painting. Over the following decades, his work continued to receive national and international attention, including receiving a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, receiving the Ohtli Award from the Mexican government for promoting Mexican culture, designing the White House Easter Egg. Perhaps the climactic moment of his success came in 1994, when the Smithsonian Institution acquired his triptych, Sueno (Dream: Eve Before Adam), for inclusion in the collection of the National Museum of American Art. They named it one of the seven most important works acquired that year.
Arreguin and his wife, painter Susan Lytle, bought the Seattle property in 1987. The 1.5-story single-family residence has a rectangular plan. It represents a variant of the Minimal Traditional style with simple detailing and minimalist nods to the Colonial Revival/Early American style. The house has a cross gable roof with an intermediate slope. Asphalt/composition shingles cover the roof. The eaves are flush to the face of the house and boast small gutters which simulate simple cornice returns. A broad, tapered brick chimney rises along the east side of the home. The chimney serves the two fireplaces in the house - one in the living room on the main floor, one in the finished basement space. The basement of their house, which featured sufficient natural light, served as a joint studio for the couple until Arreguin's death in 2023.
This nomination, which was prepared as part of a National Park Service Underrepresented Communities Grant, was administered through the Washington State Historic Preservation Office.
Alfredo Arreguin was born in Morelia, Mexico in 1935. His talent as an artist was recognized at an early age and he recalled that his grandfather was the first to encourage his artistic talent, buying him colored pencils, brushes and paint. At age eight, Arreguín became the youngest pupil at the Morelia School of Fine Art.
Arreguin immigrated to Seattle in the 1956, and enrolled in the University of Washington. Studying alongside artists Dale Chihuily, Chuck Close, and Roger Shimomura, he received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts. Throughout the early 1970s, Arreguin developed a local reputation for his colorful oil paintings, inspired by Mexican folk culture, the flora and fauna from the jungles he spent time in as a youth, and the natural landscape of the Pacific Northwest. His work embraced the use of pattern and repetition; his skill in incorporating patterns from different sources made him a pioneer in the Pattern and Decoration (or P&D) movement, which intentionally blurred the line between art and design. The movement favored patterns appropriated from a global array of textiles, ceramics and architecture but also from previously disregarded Americana like quilting, embroidery and cake decoration.
In 1977, Arreguin reached national attention when he was selected as one of the artists to represent the United States at the 11th International Festival of Painting. Over the following decades, his work continued to receive national and international attention, including receiving a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, receiving the Ohtli Award from the Mexican government for promoting Mexican culture, designing the White House Easter Egg. Perhaps the climactic moment of his success came in 1994, when the Smithsonian Institution acquired his triptych, Sueno (Dream: Eve Before Adam), for inclusion in the collection of the National Museum of American Art. They named it one of the seven most important works acquired that year.
Arreguin and his wife, painter Susan Lytle, bought the Seattle property in 1987. The 1.5-story single-family residence has a rectangular plan. It represents a variant of the Minimal Traditional style with simple detailing and minimalist nods to the Colonial Revival/Early American style. The house has a cross gable roof with an intermediate slope. Asphalt/composition shingles cover the roof. The eaves are flush to the face of the house and boast small gutters which simulate simple cornice returns. A broad, tapered brick chimney rises along the east side of the home. The chimney serves the two fireplaces in the house - one in the living room on the main floor, one in the finished basement space. The basement of their house, which featured sufficient natural light, served as a joint studio for the couple until Arreguin's death in 2023.
This nomination, which was prepared as part of a National Park Service Underrepresented Communities Grant, was administered through the Washington State Historic Preservation Office.