Maryhill Museum of Art is a Northwest gem! I have visited it in the past but every time my family or friends come to visit I treat them with this pleasant drive (from Vancouver, WA) to a wonderful collection of art.
There are several collections that make me visit this museum again and again. One of them is American Indian Artifacts which includes many beaded objects such as bags, clothes, shoes and accessories.
On the other display (right) I found beaded and cornhusk bags donated to the museum by Mary Underwood Lane, member of Underwood family that enjoyed displaying the collection in an event called Underwood Fair in 1900s.
It is so much fun to study the craftsmanship and the design of these objects, especially for people who are familiar with skills involved.
Another place to stop is Théâtre de la Mode on upper level.
Théâtre de la Mode, or Theater of Fashion, was a traveling exhibition in 1940s created by top Paris fashion designers. They used mannequins approximately 1/3 the size of human scale to demonstrate new collections.
Here is a couple of examples that drew my attention during this visit.
Lucien Lelong Evening Dress: Ivory Synthetic tulle with all-over embroidery of white sequins and gray-blue floral motif.
Left: Schiaparelli’s Evening Dress (pink satin bodice; skirt of yellow, green, fuchsia, lilac, and plum synthetic satin bands trimmed with gold strips and zig-zag embroidery). Right: Germaine Lecomte “Party Evening” Dress (Black Synthetic crepe, pink-and-pale blue satin panels embroidered with brown sequins and fuchsia paste cabochons).
The chess collection of the Maryhill Museum of Art, in my opinion, deserves special attention. After traveling through Europe and States and visiting greatest museums of the world, I don’t remember seeing such a remarkable collection. I would love to share my photographs of it in another post.
