The O reported this morning that Portland Art Museum photography curator Terry Toedtemeier died last night in Hood River while signing copies of Wild Beauty, the book of photographs of the Columbia River Gorge that Toedtemeier co-assembled with John Laursen.

I can't quite figure out how to link to it, but if you hit the Powell's page for Wild Beauty, there's a link to the episode of Think Out Loud that featured Toedtemeier and Laursen talking about the book. There's also a Wild Beauty photography exhibit at PAM through Jan 11. Of the exhibit, our arts writer John Motley wrote:


This photographic survey of the Columbia River Gorge charts the impact of settlement over 90 years, when this wild territory was revised by the construction of dams, roads, and housing. That might sound like a depressing conceit, but the 200-plus photographs nonetheless capture all the sublimity of the region’s mountain vistas, waterfalls, and distinct rock formations. In fact, in the landscape photography of Carleton Watkins, the Gorge’s stunning terrain might actually appear more picturesque than the real thing.

You can read the art museum's obituary here.