John Olbrantz, director of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, traces Scottish artist David Robert’s journey up the Nile in 1838-39. The Roberts exhibit is one of two currently on display (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

With temperatures rising, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art is offering free admission this week for people to view two cool exhibits: “April Waters: Water-Ice-Sky, Antarctica” and “David Robert: Artist and Traveler.”

“It’s going to be a scorcher in Oregon this week, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees,” said HFMA Director John Olbrantz in a statement, “so we decided to forgo our normal admission fees and invite people to ‘beat the heat’ and enjoy the April Waters and David Roberts exhibitions for free in the comfort of our air-conditioned building.”

A journey down the Nile River in “David Roberts: Artist and Traveler” features 60 prints from the Scottish sketch artist whose depictions of Egyptian landmarks and architecture in the 1803 helped galvanize European interest in Egyptology. 

The exhibition features 60 prints of Spain, Egypt, Nubia, and the Holy Land on loan from Ken and Linda Sheppard, with several watercolors by Roberts on loan from the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, according to a statement from the museum.

People can escape the heat of Salem by taking in “April Waters: Water-Ice-Sky, Antarctica,” a series of polar landscapes from Waters–a Salem artist. 

Waters traveled to Palmer Station, Antarctica in 2018 as a grantee of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program bringing back inspiration for her landscapes that feature icebergs and frigid waters. 

The museum is located at 700 State St. and is open Tuesday through Saturday noon to 5 p.m. Free admission will run from July 26-30. 

-Caitlyn May

Salem Reporter