Portland Museum of Art

The PMA is the major art institution of northern New England, holding strong collections of American art (Homer, Hopper, Wyeth), French Impressionists, and a serious contemporary programme. The building itself is good: I. M. Pei's firm designed the brick main wing in 1983, and the museum spreads through two earlier mansions and out to the Winslow Homer studio at Prouts Neck.

Allow at least two hours. Free admission on Friday evenings. Seven Congress Square, in the heart of the Arts District.

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A story
The PMA owns one of the world's best collections of Winslow Homer, including the contents of the studio at nearby Prouts Neck where he painted his late seascapes. The studio itself — a small wooden building on a cliff over the Atlantic — can be visited by booked tour through the museum, and is one of the more moving pilgrimage sites for anyone interested in American art.