The Portland Art Museum occupies two neoclassical buildings on the South Park Blocks — the civic, tree-lined promenade that defines the cultural edge of downtown. The museum opened in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the American west coast. The permanent collection covers Pacific Northwest Native American art with particular depth: masks, regalia, and ceremonial objects that are among the most significant holdings of this kind in the country. European painting, Japanese art, and a strong design and graphic art collection complete the survey. The light in the older building's upper galleries enters through skylights and changes through the afternoon in the way that naturally lit gallery rooms do — the correct conditions for looking at paintings when you can arrange them.
South Park Blocks, Portland, United States