The Toboggan

The Toboggan


Douglas Lynch (1913 - 2009). Oil and shellac on carved linoleum. 1937 - 1938. Ski Grill (now Barlow Room), Mt. Hood Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, Oregon.

In 2002, when the Ski Grill reopened as the Barlow Room, the 89-year-old artist wrote:

"These murals were planned and produced in 1937 - 1938. In the '30s, I was active in the design of display windows, posters and murals for Portland, Oregon's department stores, 45 restaurants and businesses. This work in the daily walk-around arts of the city was given considerable prominence, and I was comissioned to participate in the Timberline Lodge project with these panels. They show the pleasures of the slopes and streams of Mt. Hood as they were enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts at the time."

"The wall coverings is [sic] off-white linoleum, a material usually used on floors. The lines of the drawing are incised in the surface with a matte [sic] knife and flat chisel, creating the effect of a linear light and shadow. Color areas are floated over the lines in successive layers of oil glazes, each layer 'sized' with white shellac. These built-up colors originally had a rich, glowing quality."

(Source: Description posted on the wall of the Barlow Room to provide information about the history of the murals and about "A Flyfisher," "A Springtime Walk" and "Selecting a Fly," damaged murals that were removed in the 60s, rediscovered twenty years later, and returned to the room when it was restored.)

The artist's April 20, 2009, obituary at oregonlive.com stated:

"I didn't become an artist," [Lynch] said. "I always was, from the time I was a child -- everybody put pencils in my hand, colored chalk and all that stuff -- and so there was no transition from the point when I was whatever I was as a child to becoming an artist. It was just a continuous process."

Lynch was born in LaGrande and moved with his family to Portland when he was a teenager. He graduated from Grant High School in 1931, where his wife, Alexandra Lynch says, "he had two wonderful art teachers who really influenced his direction."

Lynch attended several art schools, including the Portland Museum Art School. He also studied at the Rudolph Schaeffer School in San Francisco and the Chouinard Art Institude in Los Angeles.

Lynch got his start doing window displays in Meier & Frank and Lippman's in the 1930s. When the interior of Timberline Lodge was being planned, a project coordinator saw his window displays and commissioned him. Lynch created the murals in 1937.

Except for a seven-year stint as the art director of the Jantzen swimsuit company starting in 1957, Lynch spent most of his career teaching and doing freelance projects. He taught at the Portland Museum School for 30 years, "so he influenced a lot of students in the history of the arts training," his wife, Alexandra said.

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Orignal From: The Toboggan