November 19, 2014
®l?* jßortlanh (Obstruer
Page
Alberta
North Portland
Anna Magruder's painting o f Beatrice Morrow Cannady, the
historic Portland civil rights leader and editor o f the Advo
cate show her spilling tea into a sea o f white while behind
her stand a variety o f African-American supporters.
Paintings
depict historical
cultural roots
Portland artist Anna Magruder loves
painting people from the past and her
new series of historic surrealist paint
ings portray some of the hidden stories
in v olving people o f c o lo r behind
Oregon's history.
Her project, "Oregon's Painted His
tory," is currently on display through
out the month of November at Port
land’s Centers for the Arts, 1111 S.W.
Broadway.
The idea for the series emerged after
Magruder did a painting titled Métis,
depicting children of French Canadian
men in the fur trade and Native Ameri
can women. The family portrait of a
mother and father with their daughter
between them, sharing a braid of hair,
alludes to the struggle for identity be-
Oregon’s Hidden Past
A painting
titled ‘M étis’
by Anna
Magruder
refers to
children o f
French Cana
dian men in
the fur trade
and Native
American
women from
Oregon's
earliest days.
The family
portrait alludes
to the struggle
for identity
between two
cultures.
tween two cultures.
After receiving overwhelmingly posi
tive response to the painting, she real
ized that there was more history to ex
plore and show through her art.
"Our city is influenced by what has
gone on before and I wish to honor this
history as well as the courage and resil
ience of the people who have paved our
way," says Magruder.
Rather than recreating exact scenes
of events, Magruder uses historic surre
alism that relies on symbols and meta
phors to capture emotional impact and
broader implications of the topics. Some
paintings in the series use identifiable
figures, such as Beatrice M orrow
Cannady, the historical civil rights activ
ist, editor of the Advocate and first black
woman to practice law in the state.
The painting shows her spilling tea into
a sea of white while behind her stand a
variety of African-American supporters.
Other paintings show individuals who
represent larger groups and concepts.