Duane Snider of Waldport, prolific collector of Oregon art, died May 26

WALDPORT — Duane Snider of Waldport, who began to build an impressive collection of works by contemporary Oregon artists 40 years ago while he was working as a modestly paid eyeglass lens technician in Portland, died May 26 following a lingering illness.

“My darling husband, Duane Snider, passed over on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2023,” his wife, Linda Dies Snider, posted on his Facebook page. “He loved the arts, bird-watching and animals. If you would like to honor Duane, please donate to your local arts or animal organization. Friends & loved ones rallied around Duane in his final days. He was surprised he touched so many lives. Thank you, dear ones, he felt very loved. His legacy lives on with the Snider/Dies Art Collection. ‘The way to greater light leads through the darkness.’ The Tao.”

Oregon ArtsWatch and YachatsNews published a feature last fall about Snider’s quest to find a home for his collection after doctors had initially told him his disease was fatal. At the time Tammy Jo Wilson and Owen Premore of the nonprofit arts organization Art in Oregon were helping to catalog and seek a landing spot for Snider’s collection of more than 240 works.

“The singular things that are unique about the collection (are) the length of time it covers for Oregon artists in such a wide scope,” Wilson said. “And just Duane’s own collector voice as far as leaning toward the surreal, kind of magical, but then also just wanting to capture the Oregon art feeling and artists that are important to the state as a whole.”

Snider, who moved with his wife from Portland to Waldport in 2018, had a good eye, and followed his instincts. Working on a tight budget, he looked for art that appealed to him and bought what he could afford. He didn’t buy out of financial speculation — he was not a wealthy man — but out of pleasure, and he liked to make connections with the artists whose work he bought.

In his own Facebook post, Premore called Snider an “art collector, historian, writer, friend, and unmatched advocate of Oregon art and artists.”

“His favorite artist was unquestionably Chuck E. Bloom,” Premore wrote. “Duane loved Chuck and his paintings. Chuck and Duane stayed in contact to the end. Duane’s dying wish was for the Hallie Ford Museum of Art to acquire at least one of Chuck E. Bloom’s paintings. Art in Oregon will be working with Linda and Hallie Ford in the near future on the Snider/Dies Collection estate planning.”

Snider was also involved with city of Waldport committees, joining the budget committee in 2019, the planning commission in 2020 and was a member of the city’s housing needs analysis team last year.

“Duane was an eager advocate for low-cost housing options in the city and cared deeply about making the community better,” said city manager Dann Cutter. “His enthusiasm will be missed.”