Museums - Maryhill Museum of Art

The Maryhill Museum of Art has an unusual history, to say the least. Wealthy entrepreneur Samuel Hill bought 6,000 acres overlooking the Columbia River in 1907 and built a state-of-the-art concrete chateau-like mansion on the property. Soon after, his friend Loie Fuller, the noted dancer, convinced him to convert the building to a museum. Though unfinished, the museum was dedicated in 1926 by Queen Marie of Romania, whose country Hill had generously aided after World War I. Following Hill’s death in 1931, another friend, Alma Spreckels, a flamboyant San Francisco personality, assumed responsibility for overseeing the completion of the project. She became Maryhill’s principal benefactor and donated much of her own art collection to the museum. Under her guidance, the museum opened to the public on Sam Hill’s birthday, May 13, 1940.
The museum holds a significant collection of European and American art. It also has Queen Marie’s regalia and a full-scale replica of Stonehenge. There is an extensive Native American collection comprised of rare prehistoric rock carvings, intricate baskets and beadwork, and an array of artifacts from throughout North America. The museum has a display of Native American artifacts that closely resemble those Lewis and Clark documented and collected from the Columbia River Gorge area, including a flat bag in the Wasco/Wishxam style that is almost identical to one the explorers acquired while in the area.