(GOLDENDALE, Wash., February 13, 2018) — Maryhill Museum of Art will re-open for the season on March 15, 2018 with a special exhibition featuring 40 works by Richard F. Lack, one of the most significant and prolific American realists of the last half of the 20th century.
American Classical Realism will also be featured in a concurrent exhibition that includes work by R.H. Ives Gammell, Robert Douglas Hunter and Samuel Rose. Historic and contemporary European and American landscape paintings, and an exhibition of smaller sculptures, all drawn from the museum’s collection, will also be on view in 2018.
A wide range of related programming for adults and families, including lectures, hands-on art workshops and special events will be offered throughout the year. Full calendar at www.maryhillmuseum.org.
SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS IN 2018
March 15 – November 15, 2018
Richard F. Lack: The Interior Journey—Paintings, Drawings, and Studies
The paintings of Richard F. Lack (1928–2009) combine the form and drawing of nineteenth-century academic painters with the color and atmosphere of the Boston impressionists. His interest in classical painting traditions led him to the atelier of R. H. Ives Gammell, with whom he studied from 1950 to 1956. Lack and Gammell were proponents of “Imaginative Painting” and used the term to describe work that was previously designated as historical—or poetic—painting. It includes historical, religious, mythological, allegorical, fantasy, mystical and symbolic art. Curated by Stephen Gjertson, with assistance from The Atelier and the Lack Estate. Gjertson is a Minneapolis-area artist who was a student of Lack and a former teacher at his atelier.
March 15 – November 15, 2018
American Classical Realism
R.H. Ives Gammell (1893–1981) was one of the last American artists whose training traces back to the French academic tradition of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1950, he founded a Boston studio to ensure that the classical painting tradition would be preserved. In the early 1980s, one of Gammell’s students, Richard Lack, was asked to coin a term that would distinguish the work of the Boston realists from that of other representational artists. The idea of “Classical Realism” was subsequently articulated. Maryhill Museum of Art is home to a large collection of these works and this exhibition draws from that material. Work by Gammell and three of his students—Richard Lack (1928–2009), Robert Douglas Hunter (1928–2014) and Samuel Rose (1941–2008)—may be seen in the exhibition.
March 15 – November 15, 2018
Maryhill Favorites: Landscape
This exhibition showcases landscape paintings from the museum’s collection, including historic and contemporary European and American works, and recent paintings from the 2016 and 2017 Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge events.
March 15 – November 15, 2018
Sculpture from the Permanent Collection
On view are 20 small sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection. Highlights include Art Deco ceramics by Seraphin Soudbinine, bronzes by French artist Théodore Rivière, and The Wretched by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller.
OTHER EXHIBITIONS:
In addition to the special exhibitions mentioned above, the museum has permanent exhibitions of more than 80 works by Auguste Rodin, European and American paintings, objects d’art from the palaces of the Queen of Romania, Orthodox icons, a display of more than 75 chess sets from around the world, and the renowned Théâtre de la Mode, featuring small-scale mannequins attired in haute couture fashions of post-World War II France. The museum’s Native American Gallery features works of art from prehistoric through contemporary, with a particular emphasis on tribes from the Pacific Northwest. The exhibition Sam Hill and the Columbia River Highway shows historic construction images and early scenic views of the Columbia River Gorge.
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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 American Indian collection represents nearly every tradition and style in North America, with works of art from prehistoric through contemporary.
Maryhill’s William and Catherine Dickson Sculpture Park 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. In 2012 the museum opened the Mary and Bruce Stevenson Wing, a 25,500 square foot expansion that is the first in the museum’s history. The new wing boasts the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center, a collections storage and research suite, a new cafe and terrace, and the Cannon Power Plaza with an installation of sculpture, and sweeping views of the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood in the distance.
VISITOR INFORMATION:
Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 15 to November 15. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $9 for college students with I.D., $5 for youth age 7-18 and free for children 6 and under. Maryhill participates in Museums for All, with admission set at $2 per person with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card and a valid form of photo ID. Rate is valid for up to four individuals per EBT card. 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, as well as a selection of local wines are available at the museum’s cafe, Loie’s, 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 maryhillmuseum.org.
Image: Samuel Rose (American, 1941–2008), Attachments, 1967, oil on board, 30½” x 32½”; Collection of Maryhill Museum of Art