Welcome to the Portland Museum of Art!
I invite you to discover all we have to offer at the Portland Museum of Art. As the largest and oldest art museum in the state of Maine, the Museum serves as a vital cultural resource for all who visit. The Museum's collection of more than 17,000 objects is housed in three historic and remarkable buildings showcasing three centuries of art and architecture. Whether this is your first visit or 131st, our changing exhibitions and permanent collection offer you a diverse selection of fine and decorative arts to view.
This winter indulge in the exhibition Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life from the Norton Museum of Art, on view February 4 through June 6. See more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and photographs of fantastic bouquets of flowers, bountiful bowls of fruit, and opulent objects. Featured artists include Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Marc Chagall. The Museum is offering a variety of programs associated with the exhibition, including Chef's Choice, a movie series curated by local Portland chefs, a presentation by Lou Ekus, a media coach to some of the most famous names on cooking shows, and our 2010 Bernard A. Osher Lecture featuring Judith Jones, the legendary editor that is best known as the champion behind the underappreciated book proposal that became the revolutionary cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Trace the history of collage on the second floor in the exhibition Collage: Piecing It Together, on view through February 28. Drawn primarily from the Museum's permanent collection, this exhibition showcases collage works from the early 20th century to present day and covers a wide range of collage techniques, including abstract works pieced together from newsprint and colored papers, collaged elements incorporated into drawings and prints, paintings that include collaged figurative elements, and photomontages.
On the fourth floor the Museum celebrates it's recent photographic acquisitions in the exhibition New Acquisitions 2009: In Black and White on view through February 21. The exhibition includes 37 photographs, ranging from romanticized scenes of Maine agrarian life in the early 20th century by Chansonetta Emmons, to mid-century documents by photojournalist Verner Reed and contemporary images of an elderly Mainer by Jon Edwards.
Don't forget to take in a film at the Movies at the Museum program. Every weekend we will showcase alternative, foreign, or classic films. Experience the art of film!
All of these extraordinary exhibitions are explored in greater detail through art classes, music, lectures, and much more.
Mark Bessire
Director