Centennial Celebration

About the Centennial Celebration

Celebrating the special relationship between Maryhill and Romania, forged through museum co-founder Queen Marie, this all-day festival commemorates the centennial of the Queen’s dedication of Maryhill Museum of Art on November 3, 1926. Enjoy tastes of traditional Romanian foods and beverages, watch folk dance and music performances, make art and crafts, listen to talks, play games, and participate in a time capsule ceremony led by civic and cultural leaders from the Pacific Northwest and Romania.

More information about this event will be available soon.

Brief History of Queen Marie’s Visit to Dedicate Maryhill Museum of Art

Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938) was a friend of Sam Hill. She traveled across two continents to dedicate Maryhill Museum of Art in a 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. Learn more in the Marie, Queen of Romania Permanent Exhibition >>