Preservation Project Overview
The Preservation Project, completed in 2002, has transformed the way the Portland Museum of Art serves the people of Maine by revitalizing two historic buildings, the McLellan House (1801) and L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries (1911). The three buildings that comprise the Museum complex, including the Charles Shipman Payson building (1983), chart the evolution of architectural design and taste over the last 200 years.
From its beginning, the McLellan House has been a mirror of Portland’s economic and cultural history, for each of its owners has helped shape that history: self-made merchant Hugh McLellan (1801-1815); wealthy and powerful entrepreneurs Asa Clapp and Charles Quincy Clapp (1815-1880); author and preservationist Margaret Mussey Sweat (1880-1908); and since 1908, the Portland Society of Art, now the Portland Museum of Art. The city of Portland is rich in historic house museums but was lacking in a public architectural exploration of the Federal era; thus the conservation and reopening of the McLellan House fills a major gap in the cultural resources available to residents and visitors, and the House is an important feature in Portland’s cultural landscape.
McLellan House
The McLellan House is a place to learn about 19th-century architecture and design. The interior finish of the House has been restored to the Federal period and the principal rooms installed with vibrant reproduction wallpapers, carpeting, and furniture that encourage active use of the space and provide an appropriate learning environment. Visitors can use state-of-the-art interactive computer exhibitions in two study centers to make meaningful connections among the architectural and design features of the House and 19th-century works in the Museum’s collection.
By learning about past residents of the House, visitors are able to explore detailed information about the social, economic, political, and artistic history of the 19th century, and can see how the story of art and patronage in 19th-century America was shaped. In addition to the educational role that this dynamic center assumes, it also provides comfortable and elegant spaces for social activities, including meetings, lectures, and receptions.
Lorenzo de Medici (L. D. M.) Sweat Memorial Galleries
L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries provide a space to exhibit a far greater portion of the Museum’s permanent collections, particularly its growing collection of 18th- and 19th-century American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts installed in the conserved galleries. The grace and allure of the John Calvin Stevens-designed galleries provide a historic setting that serves as an ideal transition between the modern Charles Shipman Payson building and the Federal-era McLellan House. The galleries showcase American art up to 1900, an important period in American history in which artists attempted to establish and define an American identity. Winslow Homer, the father of American art, is a highlighted artist with a gallery reserved exclusively for his work. The rotunda features marble sculptures including works by Benjamin Paul Akers, Hiram Powers, and Franklin Simmons. In addition, the lower ground floor of the Galleries includes newly designed studio spaces for artmaking activities, doubling the previous studio space.
All conservation activities conformed to the U. S. Department of the Interior’s Standards for Preservation. The work has also been governed by the standards established by the city of Portland for the care of properties within its Historic District. This project has been reviewed by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and monitored by the agency through completion. A Building Committee comprised of the chief architects, key Museum staff members and Trustees, and other historic preservation specialists met regularly to review plans and monitor the project.
Museum Information
The Portland Museum of Art is located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with I.D., $4 for youth ages 6 to 17, and children under 6 are free. The Museum is free on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Museum Cafe and Store. For more information, call (207) 775-6148. Web site www.portlandmuseum.org.