Avery Trufelman

The following is one of my favorite stories I have ever had the privilege of making.

It came out in 2020.

I remember I finished it in my apartment during lockdown.

And since it came out, there have been a lot of new updates that have happened.

So first I'll play the piece, and then there'll be a little tiny follow-up.

Enjoy.

Linda Tessner wanted out.

Linda went to Ohio State University for her master's in art history.

And when she graduated in the early 80s, she was ready to hightail it out to New York or Boston.

I wanted a museum job.

But institution after institution, Linda was striking out.

Then, one day, Linda was flipping through a newsletter for museum professionals, and she saw a job listing to be the director at a place in Washington state called the Maryhill Museum of Art.

But I sent them my materials anyway.

Even though Linda was 26 years old and had never worked in museum management and didn't know this place at all, she got the job.

And it was only then that Linda learned exactly where she was moving.

The Maryhill Museum of Art is a stately mansion perched on top of a cliff by the Columbia River Gorge.

It's stunning, but it looks like it was just cut and pasted onto the Lewis and Clark Trail.

It has absolutely no other buildings around it.

This is not what Linda was picturing when she got into the arts.

She grew up reading fashion magazines, getting up on culture.