GOLDENDALE, Washington — The Maryhill Museum of Art is a place along the Columbia River to tour an art show or catch a concert.

On April 27, the museum opens “Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge” starting at 5 p.m. Works for this show will be completed by nearly 40 artists from April 22-25 in the Gorge, including on the museum grounds.

The opening reception includes light appetizers, wine and refreshments.

All paintings are available for purchase in the Event Sales Gallery in the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center. A portion of the proceeds support Maryhill Museum of Art.

‘The Columbia River’

Currently on exhibition is “The Columbia River: Wallula to the Sea” featuring works by Thomas Jefferson Kitts and Erik Sandgren. This display contains approximately 70 historic and contemporary paintings and photographs showing Middle and Lower Columbia River landscapes, peoples, ideas and structures.

It also contains select examples of regional material culture by Indigenous artists. The works are drawn from the museum’s permanent collection and borrowed from public collections, private collectors and local artists. Institutional lenders include the Oregon Historical Society and the Yakima Valley Museum.

According to the website, “The Columbia River: Wallula to the Sea” celebrates the active and diverse ways in which humans have interacted with the river, its beauty, and its bounty. As a significant feature in the regional landscape, it is a companion for those who travel east and west between Astoria, Portland, and the mouth of the Snake River, and it is a destination for fishermen, water sports aficionados and outdoor enthusiasts.

Kitts graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1984 and returned home to paint in the Pacific Northwest and California. He is an active member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the California Art Club, the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society.

Sandgren was born in Corvallis where his father taught at Oregon State University. He studied at Yale University (BA 1975), Cornell University (MFA 1977), and served as a one-man art department at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, Washington, from 1989-2018. During sabbaticals, he taught and was artist-in-residence in England, France, and elsewhere.

Visit

Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River across from Biggs Junction — about 118 miles west of Pendleton.

Admission is $16 adults, $13 seniors, $10 college students and $5 for ages 7-18. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.maryhillmuseum.org.