In 1909, the Portland Art Museum opened a school in its modest building at Southwest Fifth and Taylor, offering day and evening instruction for adults and Saturday classes for young people. Studio classes included drawing (shown), painting, graphic design, ceramics and other subjects. All but four of the 52 students who completed the school’s certificate program by 1946 were women from Portland and surrounding areas.
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Every week, Oregon Experience shares a photo highlighting the state's diverse, exciting history.
Modern art was slow to develop in Oregon. During the first several decades of the 20th century, bold, talented artists were painting traditional Northwest subjects with fresh, modernist techniques and moving into uncharted expressionist and abstract territory. Most of the best-known artists made up a small group affiliated with the Portland Museum Art School. But until the 1960s, few if any galleries existed to display or sell these artists' work. The struggles and achievements of these dedicated pioneers paved the way for today's diverse, flourishing art scene.
Watch the Oregon Experience documentary "The Art Makers" to learn about the artists and gallerists who inspired an appreciation of regional modern art.
This series is in partnership with The Oregon Historical Society
