InUSA Tour Guide

Portland Museum of Art

Portland, Maine

For over a century, the Portland Museum of Art has been dedicated to creating an institution unique in the country. The award-winning Payson building, designed by I M Pei & Partners, opened in 1983. From the moment you enter the Great Hall, you encounter a rich but disciplined elaboration of interior space accompanying and supporting the exhibition of fine and decorative art from the 18th century to present.

The galleries include many outstanding works by artists such as Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, and Jim Dine. Elizabeth B Noyce, long-time friend and supporter of the museum, bequested 66 American works of art to the permanent collection. This unprecedented gift brought to the Museum its first paintings by George Bellows, Alfred Thompson Bricher, Herman Dudley Murphy, Abraham Walkowitz, and Jamie Wyeth, as well as adding masterpieces to the collection by Childe Hassam, Rockwell Kent, Fitz Hugh Lane, John Marin, Andrew Wyeth, and N C Wyeth. The works of European masters such as Auguste Renoir, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, and Mary Cassatt are also well-represented in these world-class collections.

Maine's own extraordinary artistic history is highlighted at the museum. One of Maine's most famous resident artists, Robert Indiana, has been making prints for more than 30 years. In 1971, Indiana created a portfolio of 10 silkscreens which reproduces his most important paintings from the 1960s. Francis S. Merritt is often described as "Maine's living treasure." Lasting Impression: Gelatin plate prints features 20 of the artist's finest prints.

The museum's Decorative Arts Collection documents the design and craft traditions of southern Maine as well as the early 19th-century taste for classical design. The museum's extensive glass collection includes more than 2,000 pieces of American and European origin, including pieces by famous glass manufacturer Louis Comfort Tiffany.

There's so much to see and do at the Portland Museum of Art! Stop by for lunch in the Museum Café, open year-round (no admission is required to dine), and pick up our current Calendar of Events. Families will enjoy the many events for all ages offered in cooperation with our education department. From Architalx lectures to Family Festival events, the museum enriches the entire greater Portland community through its cultural offerings.

LOCATION: 7 Congress Square, Portland, ME 04101. Phone 207-775-6148.

HOURS: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10am to 5pm; Thursday, Friday 10am to 9pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm. Also open Mondays July through September.

ADMISSION: $6 adults, $5 seniors and students, $1 youth ages 6-12, free for children under age 6. Free admission Friday from 5 pm to 9 pm.

DIRECTIONS: Take I-295 to exit 6a, Forest Ave south. Bear right at the first light, drive through the park, and proceed on State St to the top of the hill. Turn left at the light onto Congress St. The Museum is located on the right after the next light. Public parking lots are located on High St, Free St and Spring St.