Anne Hughes

Anne Hughes (née Marguerite Anne McBride) is an American gallery owner, restaurateur and patron of the arts from Portland, Oregon. Hughes has had various high-profile enterprises including the Anne Hughes Coffee Room at Powell's bookstore, an eponymous art gallery, a bed and breakfast, and the Kitchen Table Cafe.^[1][2] Mentioned along with Matt Groening, Paul Allen, and Phil Knight, she was described as a "One-Woman KaffeeKlatsch" by Willamette Week as part of the weekly's 25th anniversary celebration in "They Rule: Some of our Favorite Portlanders".^[3]

Personal life

Hughes has lived in Portland for over 60 years. She has a brother who lives in Philadelphia.^[2]

1970s

Hughes was a prominent part of the Portland art scene during the 1970s.^[4] She served on the first board of directors for the Portland Saturday Market.^[5] Before closing in 1977, the Anne Hughes Gallery operated in Northwest Portland and Downtown Portland.^[6] Judy Chicago, Henk Pander and Mel Katz showed at her gallery.^[7][8] She displayed the work of painters Scott McIntire, Frank Okada, Carolyn Cole, Jackie K. Johnson, Sherrie Wolf, Judy Cooke, jeweler and sculptor Nelsie Davis, artist Bill Ritchie, sculptor William Tunberg, and the work of the current Director of Art Programs for Marylhurst College, Paul Sutinen.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]}

1980s

During the 1980s, Hughes hosted "Wednesday Breakfasts" which were famous for the scones.^[19]

The Anne Hughes Coffee Room

The Anne Hughes Coffee Room was started in 1985 at Powell's Books after Hughes gave a written proposal to owner, Michael Powell.^[2][20] The Coffee Room was famous as a meeting place and for The Anne Hughes Coffee Room Books, a series of blank journals put out by Hughes to be filled in by patrons. Leo Burt, the fugitive believed to be behind the Sterling Hall bombing and one-time Unabomber suspect may have visited the Coffee Room and written in one of the books in 1988.^[21][22]

1990s

On September 24, 1990, Hughes was arrested along with 51 others during the so-called "Quayle Riot". She was charged with unlawful assembly. The riot began as a demonstration timed to correspond with a visit by then-Vice-President Dan Quayle. She subsequently sued the city, claiming that her constitutional rights were violated when she was hand-cuffed for more than 3 and one half hours, forced to kneel for over an hour and cursed at by Police. The suit was subsequently settled and the criminal charges against her were dropped.^[23] Hughes operated the Kitchen Table Cafe in Portland's Buckman neighborhood for most of the 1990s. During that time, she was on the Board of the Buckman Community Association.^[24]

2000s

Hughes currently works providing organizing services to small businesses and individuals.^[1]

References