Portland Museum of Art: Fascinating Maine Artists and Well-known Masters

The Portland Museum of Art in MAINE (not in Oregon) is a great addition to your time in this cool, hipster, lobster-based city. Even though you can visit the Portland Museum of Art and see famous masters’ works all throughout, what I love about visiting are all of the wonderful Maine artists on display. Yes, you’ve got your Wyeth and Winslow Homer paintings, but contemporary Maine artists really take the cake here.

See what else you’ll find in the Portland Museum of Art and how you can plan your visit while you’re here in Southern Maine. It’s a wonderful afternoon visit and is a great way to add a twist of culture to your trip. If you have any questions about visiting the Portland Museum of Art or need recommendations for more fun things to do in Portland, please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to share more and help you plan your time exploring Maine!

Highlights of Visiting the Portland Museum of Art

While Portland, Maine always strikes me similarly to Portland, Oregon with its hipsters and its waterfront industrial area, what it has that its west coast counterpart doesn’t is a longer history as a city, and I think that’s really captured in the collection and layout of the Portland Museum of Art. A modern building adjoined to an historic home. You’ve got a beautiful space with dramatic art installations and giant white walls and then you’ move into marble sculpture and opulent colonial pieces. It’s put together as an homage to Portland’s history and progression, which is pretty cool.

And then the collections within the Portland Museum of Art are wonderful. There are some classic pieces, including works by Monet and Renoir, but what’s really wonderful is the number of pieces by Maine artists. If ever there were a love letter to the local art community meant to elevate current works to the level of recognized masters it’s what they’ve done here. You have your Wyeth and Homer pieces alongside local arts with studios that you can visit TODAY. I love how thoughtfully and respectfully done the exhibits are.

The Portland Museum of Art is simply a fun museum as well. While there are some notable pieces and the curation is done in a scholarly way, it’s also a very approachable art museum that doesn’t overwhelm you. Museum fatigue is a real thing for me and it happens when either the museum is too large and I feel like I have to conquer it all or if the exhibits are curated in a way that I have to reach back into my university art history studies to take in the information. The Portland Museum of Art is accessible, approachable, and just a wonderful place to appreciate Maine artists and their work.

Tips for Enjoying the Portland Museum of Art

The question we always get when we’re talking about museums or attractions is just how long you need to plan for visiting. For the Portland Museum of Art, it’s a solid 90 minute experience, and if you add a relaxing cup of coffee in the downstairs cafe, then you might need a little longer. It’s not a complicated museum to so it’s an easy addition to your time in Portland.

If you’re visiting the Portland Museum of Art with kids, it’s always a good idea to have some topics to talk about with them before and during the visit. Luckily since the Portland Museum of Art has such a diverse collection, there are lots of interesting pieces that are easy to talk about with kids (or other adults). A great approach if you want to make the museum time a bit more conversational is to ask kids (or your museum buddies) to find their favorite piece in each room and talk about what drew them to it. There are some wonderful landscapes that I really connected with that showcase the rough and unchanging nature of Maine, which I think is a wonderful way to incorporate what’s taken from the visit with the rest of your time exploring the state.

TIP: if you’ll be visiting Rockland during your time in Maine, be sure to stop into the Farnsworth Museum, which is right in downtown Rocklands. They also have a wonderful collection of Maine artists that you’ll love.

Notable Artists to Look for in the Portland Museum of Art

While I think the best part of the Portland Museum of Art is how well they showcase local Maine artists, I’d be remiss to not share the splendor of the rest of the collection. I forget sometimes how Portland really is a Northeast city with old money and industry being a major part of its history, thus bringing art collections and grand estate purchases to the region. Through a series of donations, loans and purchases, the collection at the Portland Museum of Art is able to feature the following prominent artists:

• Pablo Picasso
• Winslow Homer
• Gilbert Stuart
• Mary Cassatt
• Camille Pissarro
• Claude Money
• John Singer Sargent
• Auguste Rodin
• Dale Chihuly
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir
• Andrew Wyeth
• Jaime Wyeth
• Marsden Hartley (one of my favorites)
• Edgar Degas

Really, for being a smaller art museum, the collection here is quite remarkable.

Being Prepared for the Portland Museum of Art

When you visit the Portland Museum of Art, you’re welcome to take photographs of both the modern and masters exhibits and the art installations (no flash, no commercial photography). Take note of any pieces that are NOT a part of the Portland Museum of Art permanent collection or if there is a warning that photography is not allowed. It’s usually pretty clear and you don’t want to get in trouble.

There are multiple levels to the museum, so you can take the stairs down or there is an elevator. There are places to sit throughout the galleries so if mobility is a challenge, guests have ways to enjoy each part of the Portland Museum of Art, through the accessible paths and spacious galleries. There is a wonderful kid space for learning about and creating art as well, so if you are visiting with little ones and need to get things calmed down or focused, you’ve got a place for it.

Remember, this is a museum, so food and drink are not allowed. Finish that coffee or lobster roll before you come in, and then if you need something, there is a designated cafe space on the bottom floor. But don’t worry, this isn’t such a giant museum that you’ll be suffering from hunger and museum fatigue by the time you’re done.

Parking in Downtown Portland, Maine

Finding or paying for parking in downtown Portland, Maine is the worst. The parking garages are expensive and the street parking can be complicated. The Portland Museum of Art doesn’t have its own parking lot or garage so you’ll have to rely on the public options. The best and most convenient deal is the Spring Street Parking Garage and then you just have a two block walk. You’ll see other parking garage options, but the ones connected to hotels tend to be extra expensive, so avoid those if possible. If you’re staying in a hotel in downtown Portland, you should plan on walking to the Portland Museum of Art or take an Uber.