Portland Art Museum
Thanks to its central location near the heart of Downtown, Portland Art Museum is certainly easy to get to. Make no mistake about it, this is a good thing since this museum is not to be missed. Unabashed about being an art lover’s idea of heaven on Earth, Portland Art Museum boasts a mammoth 42,000 object collection, which spans the entire artistic gamut from contemporary time-based media to ancient Japanese prints to Native American masterpieces.
What Makes Portland Art Museum So Special?
All in all, the museum’s sprawling campus covers a whopping 112,000 square feet. So cavernous is the museum, in fact, that it, actually, ranks as one of the 25 largest museums in the whole country. Not only is the museum pretty massive, but it’s also no spring chicken. Established all the way back in 1892, this Portland landmark is reckoned to be America’s 7th oldest museum. Moreover, the venerable institution ranks as the oldest museum outright in the Pacific Northwest.
Now, that’s not to suggest that the museum is on its last legs. Far from it, in fact. You see, the real feather in the museum’s cap is not so much its longevity, but the fact that it continues to thrive. In part, the museum’s continuing relevance is down to its unswerving commitment to contemporary artists. The fingerprints of this progressive ethos are most unequivocal in the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art. In truth, though, the museum’s forward-thinking approach is written large throughout and helps shape the whole visitor-experience.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s not to say that Portland Art Museum in any way sidelines older artworks. Because it most assuredly does not. For evidence of this, you need to look no further than the museum’s Roman artworks or its prehistoric Native American artifacts or, for that matter, its 4th-century Korean masterpieces. And that’s just for starters.
Overall, this is a place that always keeps you on your toes, guessing at what treasures lie around the next corner. One minute you’ll be marveling at Albert Bierstadt’s masterful Mount Hood. The next you’ll be admiring the fine-boned artistry of Chinese ceramics. From there, you may find yourself awestruck by a spellbinding Native American artwork, or bowled over by graphic art dating from renaissance times.
The Museum even finds space to celebrate the unique artistic culture of the Pacific Northwest. The talents of local artists, emerging and established alike, are showcased to startling effect across an exhibition that in trademark Portland Art Museum style spans everything from video to sculpture and installation to photography.
What Else is There to Do?
Well, for starters, why not pay a visit to the onsite café? Serving a veritable smorgasbord of local delicacies, the café makes for the ideal post museum pitstop. The museum’s store, meanwhile, is the perfect place to pick up a memento or two. On top of that, you may even be tempted to pop over to the Rental Sales Gallery. This gallery displays more than 1,000 artworks, all of which are available to purchase or hire.
Public Transit
Public transit makes getting to Portland Art Museum a cinch. Bus and streetcar services run practically to the museum’s doorstep. While the nearest MAX light rail stop is only 4 blocks away.
Admission
The price for adults is $20. Seniors and college students, meanwhile, can avail of the slightly cheaper rate of $17. Children under 17 can visit for free.