The Columbia River Maritime Museums exhibit of Cleveland Rockwell paintings will close Wednesday. Visitors have just a couple of days left to view the collection, the likes of which had not been seen for 30 years prior to the CRMMs exhibit opening May 20.

Rockwell was a U.S. Army officer and surveyor during the Civil War. After his military service ended, he worked for the Coastal Survey mapping the West. Though his career was spent creating detailed topographical maps, he spent his spare time painting landscapes and seascapes with luminous color palettes.

The exhibit has been very well received, said CRMM?Deputy Director Dave Pearson. To see (the paintings) all in a row, you capture this amazing image of what the Columbia River was like in the 1880s. Pearson said visitors usually take about half an hour to walk through the exhibit, which fills the museums Steamboat Gallery.

The artworks in the exhibit were borrowed mostly from private collectors, with some coming from the Oregon and Clatsop County historical societies. Two large oil paintings will return to the Flavel House Museum after the CRMM?exhibit closes.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1792 Marine Drive in Astoria. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students and $5 for children ages 6 to 17. For information, call (503) 325-2323 or visit www.crmm.org