NEWS RELEASE Media contact:
Colleen Schafroth, Executive Director
Despite Weak Economy Maryhill Museum of Art
Reports 17% Increase in Attendance during 2009
Trend Similar at Other US Museums
(Goldendale, WA, November 18, 2009) – Maryhill Museum of Art today announced that attendance for the 2009 season increased 17% over 2008, with nearly 46,000 visitors coming through the door between March 15 and November 15. The American Association of Museums says that anecdotal evidence points to an increase in attendance at museums of all sorts across the nation.
“I think it’s indicative of people staying closer to home and exploring their own backyard,” says Colleen Schafroth, Maryhill’s executive director. “Entertainment-wise museums offer a great value. For less than the price of a movie ticket, you can learn about regional history, explore a variety of exhibits and take part in a full range of special events and educational programs for children and adults.”
New programs at Maryhill Museum of Art also drew record crowds – a Fourth of July family program attracted nearly 1,000 visitors and the museum’s inaugural NW Wine Auction was a sell-out.
One factor that may have helped boost Maryhill’s attendance is the museum’s community-based Marketing Committee. The committee, comprising members from throughout the Gorge, the Portland Metro area and as far away as Salem, has been focused on forging partnerships, targeted advertising and media outreach to raise awareness of Maryhill as one of the region’s must-visit attractions.
David Savinar, a Maryhill board member and co-chair of the museum’s marketing committee: “Maryhill is one of the Northwest’s best kept secrets. With more and more newcomers to the Pacific Northwest every year, our goal is to keep Maryhill’s name out there and entice visitors out for the day,” he says. “We also want to reach out to folks who may have visited years ago and haven’t been back recently. We are lucky to have such a magnificent treasure in our own backyard and want people to come out and enjoy it.”
Maryhill Museum of Art is located a two-hour drive from Portland and four hours from Seattle. It houses the West Coast’s second largest collection of works by Rodin – including bronzes, terra cottas, plaster studies, watercolor sketches and such well-known works as The Thinker.
The museum is open eight months annually, from March 15 to November 15. In 2010 Maryhill Museum of Art will celebrate its 70th Anniversary with a full season of special exhibits and programs.
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.
