Cathleen Rehfeld (American, b. 1958), Horsethief Butte Spring, oil, 8” x 16”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art, 2025.5.2
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center
May 3–25, 2026
About the Exhibition Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge
Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge, now in its 21st year, is an outdoor painting event that is hosted by Maryhill Museum of Art. During the last full week of April, more than 40 artists will travel to the Gorge for four days of painting en plein air. The 2026 juror is California artist, Ray Roberts, who received Laguna Plein Air Painters Association‘s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He will assign awards to a dozen works. Completed paintings will be available for purchase in the museum’s M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center from May 3–May 25, 2026.
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2 from 5–7 pm
Join us for a public reception on Saturday, May 2 from 5–7 pm at Maryhill Museum of Art. Juror Ray Roberts and Maryhill Museum of Art’s Curator of Art Dr. Steven L. Grafe will present awards. All works on view will be available for purchase.
Purchase Plein Air Artworks
Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge is a “wet paint” show and purchased artworks are taken home by buyers when they are sold. A portion of the proceeds support Maryhill Museum of Art.
See a gallery of photos from past years: Pacific Northwest Plein Air website
2026 Juror: Ray Roberts
Ray Roberts spent his childhood in Orange County with orange groves, before the days of freeways and sprawling housing developments. It has given him an enduring affection for the untamed, undeveloped California of his youth. Following the early death of his father and mother’s ill-health, Ray was sent to Orme School, a beautiful, ranch-style boarding school in the Arizona desert. Its strong fine arts program helped Ray to discover his artistic talent and ultimately set in motion Ray’s pursuit in art and the West and its cultures.
Ray graduated from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles with a BFA in1978. After 12 years as an illustrator Ray turned his focus to fine art. His western background weighed heavily in his transition. Accompanied by his artist-wife Peggi Kroll Roberts and their 3 young children, Ray began the path as painter with all the family in tow and soon gathered many prestigious awards.
Ray Roberts seeks to find the rhythm, beauty and ambiguity in painting. He seeks tension and balance, searches for discovery and familiarity, and pursues a sense of time and place. He honors the craft and standards set by the greats of the last 150 years.
Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge 2026 is sponsored by Byron & Sue Henry; Kathleen Marquart; Friends of the Columbia Gorge; Tokki Art Supply, Hood River; Scottsdale Artists’ School; Stephen & Laura Muehleck; David Burbach Photography; and Robert Hogfoss.