2026 Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge
April 27–30, 2026
Hosted by Maryhill Museum of Art
35 Maryhill Museum Drive
Goldendale, WA 98620
509-773-3733
Maryhill Museum of Art is located high above the Columbia River in south-central Washington State: www.maryhillmuseum.org
Come and paint the green hills and wildflowers of the Columbia River Gorge. The museum will be exhibiting plein air works from May 3–May 25, 2026 (Memorial Day).
Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pnwpleinair
Website:
http://www.pacificnwpa.com to see photos of past events and updated information.
ONLINE CALL FOR ARTISTS
Begins: October 6, 2025
Closes: Monday, December 8, 2025, at midnight
Notification of artists (by email from Online Juried Shows): The week of December 22, 2025.
ACCEPTED ARTISTS
· Paint dates: Monday, April 27, through Thursday, April 30, 4:00 p.m. deadline.
· First day meet and greet: Monday April 27, 8:00 a.m., on the Hood River waterfront.
· Drop Off Work: Thursday April 30, 4:00 p.m. Work should be dropped off in the Mary & Bruce Stevenson Wing at Maryhill Museum of Art. A map will be provided.
· Informal artist social/deadline gathering for artists: Thursday, April 30, after 4:00 p.m. in Maryhill Museum’s café and on its adjacent outdoor terrace.
· An opening reception will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 (assuming there is no return to pandemic protocols).
· Exhibition dates: Sunday, May 3–Monday, May 25, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily.
· Pick up work: Tuesday, May 26, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., in the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust Education Center at Maryhill Museum of Art.
AWARDS JUROR: Ray Roberts
Read about Ray and see examples of his work on his website: https://www.rayrobertsart.com/
JUROR WORKSHOP
Workshop with Ray: Friday, May 1, 2026, at a location TBD (details forthcoming).
AWARDS
1) First Place
2) Second Place
3) Third Place
4–7) Four (4) Honorable Mentions
8) Best Sky
9) Best Mountain
10) Best Water
11) Best Cultural Element
12) Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Award
13) Friends of the Columbia Gorge Award (chosen by Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
14) Maryhill Award (chosen by museum staff)
15) Museum Purchase Award(s) (chosen by museum staff)
ACCEPTED ARTISTS
Approximately 20 artists will be selected from OnlineJuriedShows to participate in this event. Jurying through OnlineJuriedShows. is done by a three-person selection committee. You will be notified of acceptance via email. Notification of artists by email is scheduled for the week of December 22, 2025. Results will be available in your OnlineJuriedShows artist profile.
APPLICATION/ENTRY FEE
The application/entry fee is $50.00 per artist (non-refundable). Please submit four (4) images of your best plein air work. The entry fee contributes to awards for the artists and show expenses (including marketing, venue, and jurying fees).
ENTERING DIGITAL IMAGES
· To participate, enter your best plein air work for selection consideration.
· The entry form must be filled out in its entirety, including unframed dimensions/size.
· Submitted images must not show matting or frame. Please crop your photos to include only the artwork.
· Please ensure that all images are right-side-up.
· For best results, make sure your image is 1920 pixels @ 72 dpi on the longest side. Images should be in JPEG format and sRGB color space. Images should be under 4 mb.
· For assistance in photographing your work and properly sizing your images, visit www.OnlineJuriedShows.com/help.aspx
· If you need help entering your images or are unable to forward them, please email onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com or call 888-666-1351.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING COMPLETED WORK
You may only enter plein air work that has been completed during the four-day paint-out, Monday, April 27, through Thursday, April 30, 2026.
MAXIMUM SIZE/HANGING HARDWARE
Maximum size of work is 72” total unframed perimeter dimension. For example, a 16” x 20” work = 72” total perimeter dimension (32” + 40”). Any combination that totals 72" or less is acceptable. Larger works will not be accepted. No saw-tooth hangers. Please use D-rings and wire as hanging hardware.
All works must be framed. No gallery-wrapped paintings will be accepted.
Artists may enter up to six (6) paintings to be hung in the show and all must be available for sale.
DROP OFF LOCATION AND HOURS
Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at Maryhill Museum of Art
Work should be dropped off at the Mary & Bruce Stevenson Wing at Maryhill Museum of Art. Access is at the end of the museum’s service road (just west of the public entrance road). A map will be provided.
No one at the museum will be available to accept art before 4:00 p.m. on April 30.
Artists who find themselves unable to pick up their work on Tuesday, May 26, must arrange for having someone else retrieve their paintings on that day.
SALES
Sales at the event will be managed by Maryhill Museum of Art. The commission is 60% Artist and 40% Maryhill Museum of Art. Commissions help underwrite the museum’s annual exhibitions and programs.
LODGING/TRANSPORTATION
Artists make their own housing arrangements. If they wish to stay or camp in the Columbia Gorge, there are many options for hotels, hostels, and camping in Goldendale, WA, The Dalles, OR, Hood River, OR, and elsewhere.
If you are painting or camping at a state park, there may be a parking or use fee. Please check these websites for more information:
https://washington.goingtocamp.com/
http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=visit.dsp_dayuse
Disclaimer/Legal
We have an event photographer; images of work or painters may be used in current or future advertising.
Maryhill Museum of Art, its sponsors, staff, and volunteers, will not be responsible for any theft, loss, incident, accident, or legal situations to the artist, artwork, and/or personal property before, during, or after the competition. Artists are responsible for providing any or all insurance or to cover themselves, their artwork, and/or their property. Maryhill Museum of Art will not be responsible for any artwork left, not picked-up, or arranged for pick-up/delivery by the artist. Artists are responsible to ask and receive permission to paint private property where needed and should not otherwise trespass on private property. Artists entering this event are painting at their own risk. Maryhill Museum of Art, the artists, staff, volunteers, and sponsors of this event are not responsible for any accidents, personal injury, loss or damage which occurs during this event.
Thank you for entering Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge! Maryhill Museum of Art is excited to host the event again this year. Situated at the eastern end of the Gorge, we assure you that the views at and around the museum are breathtaking.
To learn more about Maryhill Museum of Art, please see our website: www.maryhillmuseum.org
The museum’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/maryhillmuseum
Maryhill Museum of Art on the Google Arts & Culture website: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/maryhill-museum-of-art
This drone footage shows Maryhill Museum of Art and its Stonehenge War Memorial in their landscapes. There is no accompanying soundtrack.
https://www.facebook.com/maryhillmuseum/videos/688482918530378