Maryhill features several special exhibitions annually. These exhibitions are on view for a limited run, highlighting a variety of works from the museum’s collection as well as featuring some of the region’s most well-known contemporary artists. Click here for more information on the following current special exhibitions.

A Particular Beauty: Romanian Folk Clothing
March 15 – November 15, 2020

Maryhill Favorites: Art by Women Celebrating the Centennial of the 19th Amendment
March 15 – November 15, 2020

Orthodox Icons: The Saints and the Mother of God
March 15 – November 15, 2020

Recent Acquisitions
March 15 – November 15, 2020

Sculpture: Théodore Rivière
March 15 – November 15, 2020

When she was Romania’s crown princess (1893–1914), Marie of Edinburgh (later Queen Marie of Romania) began wearing peasant-inspired clothing from the country’s eastern provinces — a fashion trend long promoted by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania, and her court. A Particular Beauty draws from Maryhill’s collection of more than 450 items of Romanian clothing and textiles. The display will include about 20 fully dressed mannequins, and numerous individual garments such as coats, vests, shirts and blouses.The exhibition will showcase a remarkable variety of Romanian embroidery techniques, mediums, and styles that have evolved through the influences of adjacent ethnic populations, resident invaders, other outsiders, and—in recent decades–urbanization. Contextual labels and photographs will tie the objects to specific villages, counties, geographical regions, and artisan workshops.

A Particular Beauty: Romanian Folk Clothing will be accompanied by a 32-page color publication (available in Summer 2020) as well as numerous education programs throughout the season.

Major sponsors of the exhibition are Bill and Cathy Dickson with support from the Romanian American Society (Portland) and the American Romanian Cultural Society (Seattle).  Partners include Atlianta, Washington D.C., the American Romanian Cultural Society (ARCS) Seattle; the Romanian American Society (RAS) Portland; and, the Romanian Cultural Institute (CRCI) New York.   

Two- and three-dimensional works by prominent women artists including Gene Kloss, Katja Oxman, Betty LaDuke, Frances Senska, and Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller among them. While the exhibition celebrates the passage of the 19th amendment and women’s right to vote, it’s important to note that African-American women such as Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller and Native American women were not universally free to vote until after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Image: Sarah Horowitz (American, b. 1977), Blue Magnolia Blooms, 2008, gouache on iron gall ink-dyed paper, 20” x 14”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art

In 1926, when Queen Marie of Romania traveled to the Pacific Northwest to dedicate Maryhill Museum of Art for her friend Samuel Hill, she carried with her a variety of art objects that became the nucleus of the museum’s permanent collection. Included in this material were some fine Russian icons. The icon collection has since grown, through donation and purchases, and now includes more than 25 items. This selection of Maryhill’s Orthodox icons features images of St. Nicholas, St. John the Baptist, the Mother of God, and other subjects.

Image: Unknown Russian artists, Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (Platytera) with beaded riza, c. 1800–1850, tempera on wood panel and glass beads, 9” x 8”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art

Painters from throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond gather in the Columbia River Gorge to capture the incredible light and views.  After four days of painting en plein air, works are displayed at Maryhill; juror Peggi Kroll Robert will award prizes to the most exceptional works. Paintings are available for purchase August 2 through August 22, 2020 in the Event Sales Gallery in the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center. Proceeds support Maryhill Museum of Art. As work is sold and removed, other work created during the paint-out will replace it.

RELATED EVENTS:

Pacific Northwest Plein Air Paint Out
July 27 – 30, 2020
Artists spend four days painting at various locations throughout the Gorge, including on the grounds of Maryhill.

Plein Air Workshop
Friday, July 31, 2020 | all day
Plein air painting workshop with Peggi Kroll Roberts. Open to the public. More information coming soon.

Opening Reception: Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge
Saturday, August 1, 2020 | 5 to 7 p.m.
The public is invited to view the “fresh” paintings artists created in plein air, meet the artists, and enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres. Artwork will be available for purchase, with a percentage of the sales benefiting Maryhill. Awards will be given in a number of categories, including “Best Sky,” “Best Mountain,” “Best Water,” “Maryhill Museum Award,” and a museum purchase award.

Image: Yong Hong Zhong (Lake Oswego, OR), Vista House at Sunset, 2019, watercolor on paper, 12” x 16”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art