Julia Christianson Hoffman

• Illustration — Self portrait, 1885 • Illustration — Painting class taught by Frank DuMond in Christiansen Hoffman's studio, ca. 1895 • Illustration — 714 Everett Street, Portland, ca. 1890 • Illustration — Christiansen Hoffman's studio, ca. 1890s

At the Portland Art Museum on October 7, 1907, Hoffman was among 150 people who met to establish the Arts and Crafts Society of Portland, which became the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in 1978, and Oregon College of Art and Craft in 1996. Hoffman was a "photographer, painter, sculptor, metal worker and weaver" who wanted "to foster the Arts and Crafts movement through classes and exhibitions". According to Richard S. Christen, she was also "one of Portland's leading citizens and perhaps its most avid craftsperson". Christen wrote, "More than any other individual, Hoffman had generated an interest in handicrafts in the city. She also helped draft the new society's constitution and bylaws and, as one of its original trustees, its second president, and its primary spokesperson for thirty years, infused the institution with her vision of arts and crafts." Hoffman made arrangements with Henrietta Failing, curator of the Portland Art Museum, to exhibit "top-flight craft work" of "America's most successful and respected craft artists". Portland's weekly Spectator said it was "the most interesting and instructive exhibit ever given at the museum". Hoffman believed the Arts and Crafts Society of Portland could help improve the lives of blue collar workers and their families, and she sought a wide variety of accessible venues to sponsor activities and exhibits — "fairs, schools, libraries, department stores". Her daughter Margery Hoffman Smith wrote that her mother "felt strongly that there is a creative impulse in all human beings that needs outlet... for such impulses to be expressed was essential for the well being of the individual". On November 6, 1934, Hoffman was struck by a car as she was crossing a Portland street. She sustained a concussion and a broken shoulder, and she died less than a month later, on November 30, 1934. Hoffman Gallery at OCAC is named in her honor.