Founding
The museum was founded in late 1892 when seven leaders from Portland's business and cultural institutions signed the letters of incorporation creating the Portland Art Association. The goal of the Association was to create a first-class art museum that would be accessible to all citizens.
The museum purchased its first collection of some one hundred plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculptures with its first gift from prominent local citizen Henry Corbett, who donated $10,000 for the acquisition. Another local citizen, Winslow B. Ayer, and his wife selected the casts during a trip to Europe after receiving advice on their purchase from museum professionals at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
This initial collection purchased by Ayer, called the Corbett Collection, went on display in the Portland Art Museum's first location in the upper hall of the new library building at SW 7th and Stark Streets. It immediately became one of Portland's most important and popular cultural resources, attracting art groups, school field trips, and large audiences for lectures.
Read more about this topic: Portland Art Museum
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