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Maryhill Museum Features Art by Auguste Rodin

Small Washington Museum Has One of Largest Collections on West Coast

Dec 26, 2008 Cheryl Probst

Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum which packs a wallop in the art world. It is is home to one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin art in the West.

The world-class museum is a hidden gem, located in rural Washington State. This is seemingly the last place one would expect to find a Rodin collection of this caliber. One wing of the museum is devoted to his art work.

Maryhill Showcases Rodin’s Sculptures, Sketches

The Rodin collection started with the donation of his works by Loie Fuller, an American dancer who took the Paris stage by storm in the early 1900s. Loie Fuller was a friend of Rodin, the famed French sculptor. He gave her a miniature plaster of his famous The Thinker statue. It was inscribed in pencil, “A Loie – Rodin” at the base of the left foot. She donated it and other works of his works to the museum and thus the Rodin collection was born.

Rodin (1840-1917) is generally considered to be the father of modern sculpture. He is best known for his sculptures, but he also was an accomplished water colorist. While the museum owns the original water colors, it only displays reproductions for fear of damage, museum officials say.

Maryhill Owns 87 Pieces of Rodin’s Art

The museum owns 87 pieces of Rodin’s works, including bronzes, terra cottas and plaster studies. Besides The Thinker, the collection includes The Hand of God, The Age of Bronze and the life size statue of Eve from The Gates of Hell.

The Rodin collection is located in the basement’s east wing. The museum’s small café is located there, so visitors can sit and enjoy snacks while contemplating Rodin’s works.

The building housing the museum was originally slated to be a grand mansion. It ended up as a museum due to the efforts of four friends: Sam Hill, a dreamer and entrepreneur who began building the mansion for his wife, Mary Hill; Queen Marie of Romania; Loie Fuller; and Alma deBretteville Spreckels, a San Francisco sugar heiress.

Maryhill Offers Stunning Views of the Columbia River

The museum is located about mid-way between Portland, Oregon, and the Tri-Cities of Washington. It’s on Washington’s Highway 14 which runs parallel to Oregon’s Interstate 84. Freeway travelers should get off at the Biggs Junction exit and cross the bridge to Maryhill. Though Biggs Junction has a couple of restaurants and hotels, the nearest town of any size is Goldendale, Washington, about 12 miles to the north.

Maryhill is situated on a high bluff overlooking the mighty Columbia. This is the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area, and offers stunning views in both directions. On a clear day, it’s possible to see majestic Mt. Hood miles to the west.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 15 to November 15. Admission is $7 for adult, $6 for seniors and $2 for children six to 12.

Additional information on Maryhill, including its other exhibits, is available on the Maryhill website.

The copyright of the article Maryhill Museum Features Art by Auguste Rodin in NW U.S./Alaska Travel is owned by Cheryl Probst. Permission to republish Maryhill Museum Features Art by Auguste Rodin in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.