With my new found appreciation of art, I decided to get a bit more educated about it back in August, 2012. So, we took a short trip from Portland up the Columbia River to a small town called Maryhill in Washington. For it’s size, this place has a couple of good claims to fame making it well worth the day trip from Portland. A great winery, and Amphitheater.

A view. (Maryhill State Park is visible here)

A full size replica of Stonehenge.

And of course, a decent art museum who’s history is just as interesting as it’s contents. Construction on the building was started in 1914 by Samuel Hill, who is known for his other legacy, the Historic Columbia River Highway. Originally meant to be a mansion and home, the failure of the Maryhill Land Company forced construction to halt.

The famous Loïe Fuller convinced him to finish the mansion as an art museum, and helped collect art for it. Including many pieces by Auguste Rodin. In 1926, Queen Marie of Romania dedicated the still unfinished museum in front of a crowd of 2000 people. Unfortunately it didn’t open to the public until May 13th, 1940, nine years after Samuel Hill’s death.

This blog post can in no way do the collections in the museum any real justice. So below are some extracts of my favorite pieces, including several very nice Chess Sets (in the International Chess Sets Collection) that caught my eye. The Marie, Queen of Romania, American Indian Art, Loïe Fuller, and of course, Auguste Rodin collections are all worth seeing by themselves.

From the International Chess Sets collection, a chess set where one side is gold plated. And the opposing force is silver plated.

A Russian themed one, carved out of bone.

Maryhill Art Museum

And of course, a more traditional set. But look at the detail on this figure!

Other pieces that caught my eye were this Magic Lantern Glass Slide, photographed by Samuel Hill, of Fort Cascades which was on the north side of the river where Bonneville Dam is now.

A closeup of a painting showing the detail of an American sailing Schooner.

And downstairs in a hallway, a paining of a vase holding heaps of fruit.

Over all, the Maryhill Art Museum is worth the drive, and well worth the admission to get in. If you have never been, I highly recommend visiting as soon as you can.