NEWS RELEASE Media contact:
Colleen Schafroth, Executive Director
(509) 773-3733, colleen@maryhillmuseum.org
Celebrate
"The Good Life" at Maryhill Museum of Art
Car is
King Weekend kicks-off opening of The Good
Life
Exhibit
(GOLDENDALE, Wash., August 19, 2009) -
Spending time with friends
and family. Taking pleasure in nature. These are just a few of the time-honored
impulses celebrated in the exhibition The Good Life: From
the Collections of Maryhill Museum of Art, on
view from September 26 to November 15, 2009. A gallery walk will take place on
Saturday, September 26 from 2 to 3 pm; it is free and will be followed by a
reception. The opening of the exhibit coincides with the museum's
annual Car is King Weekend, which
will take place on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, and feature
a range of activities including: a vintage car show, an "Antiques Road
Show"-style heirloom festival, children's veggie car races and much more.
ABOUT
THE EXHIBIT:
The
Good Life features approximately 30 paintings,
drawings and
prints created between 1600 and 1980 by American and European artists, all drawn
from Maryhill's permanent collections.
"The works are full of
spontaneity, joy and a certain sense of nostalgia for a time when leisure was a
central part of everyday life," says Colleen Schafroth, Maryhill's executive
director.
The
Good Life is organized into three sections:
gatherings where
family and friends are depicted dancing, playing music together, sewing,
socializing and enjoying one another's company; lush still life paintings that
show tableaux created not only for the sake of painting, but to celebrate
abundance and to be thoroughly enjoyed; and, people in the landscape, relishing
nature and relaxing outdoors.
RELATED EVENTS:
Exhibit Opening
& Car is King Weekend
Taking place September 26
& 27, 2009, this weekend celebration features a gallery walk, heirloom festival, and Car is King
Weekend, which pays tribute to autos past
and present with an open car show, races for kids and the highlight of the show
- the grand entry of the vintage race cars competing in the Hill Climb race on
Sunday. On Saturday, the Maryhill Café
will be available inside and out with food, wine and beer.
Saturday,
September 26:
Heirloom Festival in the Sculpture Garden | 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
Learn more about objects you love, from
family heirlooms to garage sale treasures, as leading art dealers and
appraisers offer their expertise in the areas of Native American art
and objects, prints and paintings, jewelry, coins and stamps, as well as the
decorative arts. Opinions and appraisals
are offered for educational purposes only. $10.00 for the first item;
$25.00 for three (limit three items per person). Be prepared to wait in line
and be entertained by all you hear.
Proceeds support Maryhill Museum of Art.
Concours
de Maryhill | 10 a.m. to 4
p.m.
The museum's east lawn is transformed into
the Concours de Maryhill with dozens
of classic, sport and customized cars on view. Competition categories include
best original, classic, hot rod and muscle car. This is an open car show and
anyone with a special car may enter. The day concludes with the presentation of
the car show awards. Organized by the
Goldendale Motorsports Association. FREE.
Public Drive the
Maryhill Loops Road | Noon to 2
p.m.
In honor of Sam Hill, the historic Maryhill Loops Road will be opened for
automobiles and the public is invited to take a spin down this majestic byway -
one of the first modern roads in the Northwest. FREE.
Family Fun: Classic Veggie
Car Races | 1 p.m.
Join
in the fun at the 6th annual Classic
Veggie Car Races just for kids. Fantastically engineered cars, designed and
fabricated by children from fruits and vegetables, compete on a 12 foot ramp
for thrills and chills. Kids of all ages are invited to participate in this fun
outdoor activity. FREE.
Gallery Walk | 2 to 3
p.m.
Take
a guided tour of The Good Life, a special
exhibit drawn from the remarkable collections of Maryhill Museum of Art.
Reception to follow.
Sunday, September
27:
Maryhill Loops Hill Climb | 9 a.m. to
5 p.m.
Vintage
sports cars from the 1930s to 1960s race singly in a three-mile timed race up
the historic Maryhill Loops Road. Spectators can view the hill climb race from
the Highway 97 Overlook and from designated viewpoints along the race route. Organized by the Society of Vintage Racing
Enthusiasts of Seattle; only their approved cars and drivers will be competing.
November 1:
The Good Life
Harvest Festival | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
All
are invited to Maryhill for art demonstrations by regional artists, special
Halloween art activities for kids, storytelling and more. Family Fun activities and admission to the museum are free for children
under 17 with one adult admission.
###
ABOUT MARYHILL MUSEUM OF
ART:
Housed in a glorious Beaux Arts mansion on 5,300 acres high
above the Columbia River, Maryhill Museum of Art is one of the Pacific Northwest's most enchanting cultural destinations. Founded by
Northwest entrepreneur and visionary Sam Hill, Maryhill opened to the public in 1940; today the museum boasts a world-class permanent collection,
rotating exhibitions of the highest caliber, and dynamic educational programs that
provide
opportunities for further exploration by visitors of all ages.
The museum's collection includes more than 80 works by
Auguste Rodin, European and American paintings, objects d'art from the palaces of the Queen of Romania, Orthodox icons, unique chess sets, and the
renowned Théâtre de la Mode, featuring small-scale mannequins attired in
designer fashions of post-World War II France. Baskets of the indigenous people of North America were a collecting interest of Sam Hill;
today the museum's Native American collection represents nearly every tradition and style in North America, with works of art from
prehistoric through contemporary.
Maryhill's Outdoor Sculpture Garden features work
from the permanent collection by Tom Herrera, Mel Katz, Heath Krieger, Alisa Looney, Jill Torberson, Julian Voss-Andreae, Jeff Weitzel and Leon
White.
Each year the museum also hosts an Outdoor Sculpture Invitational showcasing artists of the Northwest. The Maryhill Overlook is a site-specific
sculpture by noted Portland architect Brad Cloepfil; nearby are Lewis and Clark interpretive panels. Four miles east of Maryhill is a life-sized
replica of Stonehenge, Stonehenge Memorial, which Sam Hill built to memorialize local men who perished in World War I. Nearby, the Klickitat County
War Memorial honors those who have died in service of their country since World War I.
The museum was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1974. In 2001 the museum was listed as an official site of the National Historic Lewis and Clark Trail and in 2002 was accredited
by the American Association of Museums.
VISITOR
INFORMATION:
Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
March 15 to November 15. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $2 for children age 6-16. Admission to the Stonehenge Memorial is free; it is
open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily.
Sandwiches, salads, espresso drinks, cold beverages, and freshly
baked desserts and pastries are available at Café Maryhill; the Museum Store features art and history books, jewelry, Native American crafts and
other mementos.
Maryhill is located off Highway 97, 12 miles south of
Goldendale, Washington. Drive times to the museum are 2 hours from Portland/Vancouver, 3.5 hours from Bend, 4 hours from Seattle, and 1.5 hours from
Yakima. For further information, visit www.maryhillmuseum.org.
Images above, left to right: Daniel
B. Schwartz, The Rowers (detail), ca.1955, oil on
canvas. Edgar Bundy. The
Musical Trio (detail), 1897, oil on canvas. George Bernier, The Horse Fair
(detail), ca. 1900, oil on canvas. George Vincent Cole, Still Life
With
Pineapple (detail), ca. 1890, oil on canvas. All from the collection
of Maryhill Museum of Art.
To download
hi-res images, click here.