I had a trip take me to Portland. It had been a while since I'd been there and this time I was able to visit the Portland Art Museum. I have to say, the first floor was a bit underwhelming and I was surprised for a larger city's art museum. However, I changed my mind once I visited the second floor. And they gave me a discount which was nice since I didn't have that much time. Above is the entrance and the floor map. On the floor map is a woodblock print by Chizuko Yoshida, Tanima no chō (Valley of Butterflies), 1979. She was one of the current exhibitions with over 100 works. I'll say it now...I have no idea why the museum labeled everything "Yoshida Chizuko" (and other members of the family in the same manner - which can be read about below). The family name is Yoshida, and her name is Chizuko. Even her works were signed "Chizuko Yoshida". I should have asked a staff member. Below are some works that caught my eye.
L: Leonard Drew, Number 232, 2020, wood, paint and sand.
R: Milton Avery, Bathers, Coney Island, 1934, oil on canvas.
Notes: I liked the disregard for detail and reality in Avery's Bathers.
L: Leonardo Drew, Number 432, 2024, wood, paint and plaster.
C: Keith Haring, Totem, 1989, woodcut.
R: Hiroshi Yoshida, El Capitan, 1925, color woodblock on paper.
Notes: I thought Drew's work had some great lines and motion. I snapped the Haring because I learned of him while walking through the Keith Haring Fitness Court in Green Mountain Falls, CO. I recognized the style and patterns immediately but hadn't known anything about the artist. I thought El Capitan was beautifully made.
L: George Luks, Mike the Bite, 1928, oil on canvas.
C: Chaïm Soutine, The Little Pastry Cook, ca 1921, oil on canvas.
R: Alfred Henry Maurer, George Washington, 1932, oil on composition board.
Notes: I really liked how Luks captured the moment and emotions without overworking details. Soutine's work is very expressive and it's that emotion that draws you into his images. You might recognize his Le Garçon d'étage which is in the Musée de l'Orangerie. That museum has the famous oval room with The Water Lilies by Claude Monet. I took a picture of the Cubist style George Washington because it was very striking. It was painted on the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth and the 100th anniversary of Maurer's father's birth. I also took the picture because works like this beg the question of relativity. If I'd typed this was a Picasso, would you have accepted that as true? Are Picasso works 'better' because they've been forced upon us? That's what's nice about art - if it captures you, it captures you - regardless of the notoriety of the artist. The fact that I reference Picasso in relation to Cubism is indeed the notoriety he deserves. Finally, this was the last thing Maurer would paint. He killed himself the same year.
L: Milton Avery, Portrait of Louis Kaufman, 1927, oil on canvas mounted on Masonite.
C: Pablo Picasso, Tête de femme (Fernande), 1909, bronze.
R: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Seine at Argenteuil, 1874, oil on canvas.
Notes: Another Avery - with more detail but still the 'blockiness' I liked from Bathers. Good to see a sculpture from Picasso, and the lines were great. Probably not one of his most famous paintings, but it's a Renoir and it certainly shows his style. This is one of ten landscapes he made while working side-by-side with Claude Monet.
L: Paul Gaugin, Garden View, Rouen, 1884, oil on canvas.
C: Edgar Degas, Madame de Nittis, ca 1872, oil on canvas.
R: Claude Monet, River at Lavacourt, 1879, oil on canvas.
Notes: Three legends. Degas' painting reminds me of the power of contrast.
L: Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange, View of Seine, ca 1910, oil on canvas.
C: Paul Cézanne, La Halle aux Vins à Jussieu (The Wine Market at Jussieu), 1872, oil on canvas.
R: Claude Monet, Waterlilies, 1914-15, oil on canvas.
Notes: Desgrange used pointillism and was one of few women working in that style. The individual rectangles of color are really impressive to see in person. Another less-famous piece, but it's a Cézanne. Waterlilies by Monet...how can you pass up taking a picture. Even if you don't like it, he's known for these and Impressionism. Just like Picasso is known as the co-founder of Cubism, artists who start a movement / style deserve to be famous.
L: Vincent van Gogh, Charrette de boeuf (The Ox Cart), July 1884, oil on canvas.
C: Théodore Rousseau, In the Pyrenees, 1844, oil on paper laid on canvas.
R: Charles C. McKim, Cascade Head, ca 1910, oil on canvas.
Notes: The van Gogh caught my eye before realizing it was a van Gogh - once again boldness and contrast caught my eye. I think this is a fantastic van Gogh and many people might not know it's his. The lighting in In the Pyrenees was well executed and it's a Rousseau. I liked the McKim painting for the simplicity, contrast and colors. Interestingly, he trained with Winslow Homer whom I think has some incredible work. The plaque accompanying Cascade Head said McKim became one of the Pacific Northwest's most evocative landscape painters. I was quite surprised how little I could find about McKim on the Web.
L: John Singer Sargent, Assistant Sketch for "The Triumph of Maria de Medici", 1877, oil on canvas
C: John Singer Sargent, Franciscan Monk in the Garden of Gethsemane, 1905/6, oil on canvas
L: George Inness, Sr., Apezzo Pass, Titian's House, 1876, oil on artist's board
Notes: It's a Sargent and I'm a fan. Followed by another Sargent. Sargent was the leading American portraitist of the Gilded Age, and I can only aspire to paint fabric and flesh like he did in a 'sketch'. When writing this post, I stubbled across a Sargent I'd never seen before and think it's brilliant. It's titled Gassed and depicts the aftermath of a mustard gas attack in WWI. As a stickler for titles of work, I couldn't've titled it better myself. The Inness painting had wonderful colors and trees, and the depth created by the mountains in the background is perfect - something I definitely have to work on.
L: Ayomi Yoshida, Misty Rain, 2021, color woodblock print on paper.
C: Thomas Moran, The Grand Canal, Venice, 1899, oil on canvas.
R: A Family Affair - this plaque discusses five members of the Yoshida family.
Notes: Misty Rain had wonderful colors and just the right amount of detail (or lack thereof). Also, it was done by another member of the Yoshida family. The Moran painting has incredible lighting. It also highlighted an artist I was not aware of/tracking. Moran has some amazing work and I think would make an excellent artist to study. The Family Affair is there because it's a nice summary of the Yoshida family members.
If you get to Portland and have time, I would highly recommend a visit. Also, if you visit after 20 November 2025, you will get to experience the museum's transformation of expansion and renovation.
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