Portland museum appeals to all ages

Maine's largest and oldest public art museum, founded in 1882, owns more than 18,000 works of fine and decorative art from the 18th century to the present, including pieces by Degas, Monet, Picasso, and Renoir. Not surprisingly, there is a special emphasis on artists with ties to Maine like Rockwell Kent, Fitz Henry (Hugh) Lane, Marsden Hartley, Louise Nevelson, and the Wyeths, N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. There is also an impressive collection of watercolors and drawings by Winslow Homer, whose studio at nearby Prouts Neck was acquired in 2006 by the museum. It hopes to open the space to the public in 2010 after a restoration.

The museum buildings themselves have historical and architectural significance. "This may be the only museum in the country where you can see exhibits in three buildings designed in three architecturally significant periods," said Kristen Levesque, a museum spokeswoman.

Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat, a 19th-century writer and literary critic, deeded McLellan House, a three-story Federal mansion, to the Portland Society of Art upon her death in 1908. The McLellan House today offers insights into architecture and daily life circa 1801.

Sweat also donated money in memory of her husband, Lorenzo de Medici Sweat, for a gallery building, which was designed by John Calvin Stevens, a well-known Portland architect. That building was recently restored to its original Beaux Arts grandeur. A modern addition, designed by I.M. Pei & Partners in 1981, represents the core of the museum and its front entrance.

Through May 11, the museum is featuring the exhibition "New Natural History," which presents 25 works by contemporary Maine artists inspired by old forms of scientific inquiry. Graphic arts will be showcased April 10-June 1 in "The Powerful Hand of George Bellows: Drawings from the Boston Public Library," featuring 57 drawings and prints not been seen publicly since the 1950s.