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Marie, Queen of Romania

About Queen Marie of Romania

Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938) was a friend of Sam Hill who presided over Maryhill Museum of Art’s dedication ceremony on November 3, 1926. Her visit to the United States that year prompted a media frenzy and created a sensation in the Columbia River Gorge when the as-yet-unfinished museum was dedicated. The ceremony attracted a crowd of 2,000, including 400 area schoolchildren and an auto caravan that originated from Portland.

During her visit, Queen Marie delivered more than 100 works of art and personal items to the museum. Today, visitors to Maryhill can see paintings, Russian icons, manuscripts, and the gown Queen Marie wore to the 1896 coronation of her cousins Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. A 1923 replica of Queen Marie’s coronation crown, jewelry, and other memorabilia are also on display. Gilded furniture from Romanian royal palaces provides a beautiful backdrop in Queen Marie room. These and other items were acquired by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels and given to the museum in 1951. Queen Marie’s 1926 gift of Romanian textiles provides the basis for a collection of Romanian folk dress that now includes 400 items.

The video below shows historic footage of Queen Marie’s historic visit to dedicate Maryhill Museum of Art for her friend Samuel Hill.

In the variety of art objects she carried with her in 1926, were some fine Russian icons. The icon collection has since grown—through donation and purchases—and now includes more than 25 items.

Marie, Queen of Romania - Maryhill Museum - Columbia Gorge

Queen Marie of Romania in coronation robes.

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Queen Marie
Byzantine motifs, featured on Queen Marie of Romania's gilded wood furniture, c. 1900 – 1910. Photography: Mary Harrsch.
Byzantine motifs, featured on Queen Marie of Romania's gilded wood furniture, c. 1900 – 1910. Photography: Mary Harrsch.
Marie, Queen of Romania - Maryhill Museum - Columbia Gorge
Marie, Queen of Romania - Maryhill Museum - Columbia Gorge

Top: 1. Queen Marie of Romaina with wild flowers, 2. Byzantine motifs, featured on Queen Marie of Romania’s gilded wood furniture, c. 1900 – 1910. Photography: Mary Harrsch. 3. Inside the Queen Marie Gallery at Maryhill Museum of Art, photo taken by Molly Gove. Bottom: 1. Turquoise and pear locket containing a lock of Queen Victoria’s hair given to her grand-daughter Queen Marie of Romania when she was one year old. Photography: Mary Harrsch. 2. Queen Marie Postcard image.

View the online exhibition: “A Particular Beauty: Romanian Folk Clothing” from the Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art

In an effort to share our exhibitions with a wider audience, the museum’s curator of art, Steve Grafe, created these digital presentations. We invite you to explore the featured objects and accompanying label copy.

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Queen Marie in America Book

This is a book containing the personal diary and other first hand accounts of Romania’s Queen Marie’s 10,000 mile journey across North America and to the Maryhill Museum for its inauguration and her words of didication.