Maryhill Museum History
The museum is housed in a grand mansion, built on over 6,000 acres of property owned by Sam Hill, a wealthy businessman and Quaker pacifist who planned on founding a Quaker agricultural community on the estate. The project received its name from the man's daughter, Mary Hill. His attention drawn to other activities, Sam Hill's agricultural community was never established.
Encouraged by his friend Loie Fuller of the Folies Bergere, an important figure in the modern dance movement, Sam Hill's mansion became an art museum. The acquisition of the museum's collection of Rodin sculpture was among Fuller's many contributions to the project.
Queen Marie of Romania, another woman friend of Sam Hill, helped dedicate the museum at its opening ceremony in 1926. The Queen arrived for the occasion bearing crates of artwork for Maryhill's collection, in appreciation for Hill's assistance to her country after World War I. Her gifts included Russian icons, Faberge objects, a coronation gown, crown jewels, and furnishings.
Alma Spreckels, a San Francisco sugar heiress, led the museum to completion after Sam Hill passed away in 1931. Her contributions and oversight led to the museum opening on May 13, 1940, Hill's birthday. Mrs. Spreckels donated a significant portion of her personal art collection to the museum.
