PMA - Portland Museum of Art

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) stands as a vibrant cultural institution that bridges Maine’s artistic heritage with international creativity. Nestled in the heart of Portland, the museum’s mission is to engage, enrich, and inspire through a dynamic collection and diverse programming. With holdings that span centuries, the PMA is particularly renowned for its outstanding strength in modern and contemporary art.

One of the museum’s most celebrated areas is its collection of 20th-century prints. Thanks to the David and Eva Bradford Collection, the PMA houses exceptional examples of German Expressionist graphics that highlight the bold innovation of early modernism. American printmaking after World War II is also well represented, with works by Leonard Baskin, Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Robert Motherwell, and Robert Rauschenberg. The vibrant energy of Pop Art finds its place in silkscreens by Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Ed Ruscha, and Roy Lichtenstein. More recent acquisitions continue to expand this collection, with important contributions from Helen Frankenthaler, Judy Pfaff, Alison Saar, Pat Steir, and the Vinalhaven Press, reflecting the evolving dialogue of contemporary printmaking.

Photography is another area of distinction for the PMA. Its holdings trace the medium’s history from 19th-century daguerreotypes and stereographs documenting Portland’s past, to the evocative images of Pictorialism by figures such as Chansonetta Emmons, Alfred Brinkler, and F. Holland Day. Twentieth-century documentary photography shines in works by Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger, while the raw energy of American street photography is captured in the lens of Leon Levinstein and Garry Winogrand. The collection also highlights portraits of cultural icons through photographers like Philippe Halsman and Barbara Morgan. Contemporary Maine photographers, including Melonie Bennett, Paul Caponigro, and Scott Peterman, bring the story into the present, anchoring global traditions within a distinctly local context.