News Release: February 3, 2011

NEWS RELEASE Media contact:

Colleen Schafroth, Executive Director

(509) 773-3733, colleen@maryhillmuseum.org

Maryhill Museum of Art Announces Change in Hours and New Family Rate

(GOLDENDALE, Wash., February 3, 2011) – Maryhill Museum of Art will introduce new hours of operation, effective March 15, 2011. The museum will be open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between March 15 and November 15.

In addition to new hours, the museum will also debut a special Family Rate admission package. The Family Rate admits two adults and any number of related children age 18 and under for $25. The Family Rate will be extended to any family combination, including parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.

Regular admission to Maryhill Museum of Art during the 2011 season is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and $3 for youth between the ages of seven and 18. Children under six are admitted free of charge.

Admission to the museum’s grounds, including the Outdoor Sculpture Garden and picnic areas is free. Admission to Maryhill’s Stonehenge Memorial, located four miles east of the museum, is free also; it is open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily.

Maryhill’s Access Art program places free passes in libraries throughout the Columbia River area and Eastern Oregon. The pass, which is checked out like a library book, allows all members of a family living in the same household, plus up to four guests, to visit Maryhill Museum free of charge.

Free passes to Maryhill Museum of Art are available in numerous communities throughout the Columbia River Gorge, Eastern Oregon and Washington.

Washington state libraries include: Goldendale, White Salmon, and Stevenson. In the Yakima Valley participating libraries are in Buena, Granger, Harrah, Mabton, Moxee, Naches, Selah, Southeast Yakima, Summitview, Sunnyside, Terrace Heights, Tieton, Toppenish, Union Gap, Wapato, White Swan, Yakima Central and Zillah.

Oregon libraries include: Adams, Arlington, Athena, Baker City, Boardman, Carnegie Union Public Library (Union), Cascade Locks, Christmas Valley Library, Condon, Cook Memorial Library (La Grande), Crook County Library (Prineville), Dufur, The Dalles, Echo, Enterprise Public Library, Fossil Public Library, Grant County Library (John Day), Haines Library, Halfway Library, Harney County Library (Burns), Helix, Heppner Branch Library, Hermiston, Hood River, Huntington Library, Ione Public Library, Irrigon Branch Library, Jefferson County Library (Madras), Joseph Public Library, Lakeview Library, Malheur County Library (Ontario), Moro, Milton-Freewater, Parkdale, Paisley Library, Pendleton (including Blue Mountain Community College), Pilot Rock, Richland Library, Southern Wasco County Library (Maupin), Spray Public Library, Stanfield, Sumpter Library, Umatilla, Ukiah, Wallowa County Library (Enterprise), Warm Springs, and Weston.

For a schedule of exhibitions and programs planned for the 2011 season at Maryhill Museum of Art, visit www.maryhillmuseum.org.

EDITORS: Images for use by the media are availble at http://www.maryhillmuseum.org/press.html.

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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 opened to the public May 13, 1940 and today remains one of the Pacific Northwest’s most enchanting cultural destinations. The museum was founded by Northwest entrepreneur and visionary Sam Hill, who purchased the property and began building the house with dreams of establishing a Quaker farming community. When that goal proved untenable, Hill was encouraged by friends Loie Fuller, Queen Marie of Romania, and Alma de Bretteville Spreckles to establish a museum.

Maryhill Museum of Art 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. On view are 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 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 more than a dozen large-scale works by Northwest artists. 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 the 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 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 15 to November 15. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for youth age 7-18 and free for children 6 and under. 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 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily; 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.