The Maine Perspective
Architectural Drawings
Part 1: The Rise of the Architectural Profession,
1800-1870
Portland Museum of Art
February 7 through May 23, 2004
Portland has an impressive architectural history
thanks largely to the numerous talented architects that worked to build a
city worthy to be the capital of the new state of Maine.
Title: Bramhall, Portland, Elevation, 1856
Artist: Charles A. Alexander (United States, 1822-1888)
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Permanent Collection: Maine Historical Society.
Courtesy: The Portland Museum of Art
Charles A. Alexander was a noted architect
responsible for many of the Victorian style homes that were built in
Portland in the mid 19th century. Most famous of all was the Bramhall
created for the entrepreneur John Bundy Brown.
Alexander was just one of many famous architects
that contributed to both the city and the state. Charles Bulfinch's
preliminary drawing for the Maine State House is a focal point of this
exhibition. Alexander Parris, known for his lighthouses that dot the Maine
coastline, is included in this exhibition via Matinicus Light and Monhegan Light.
Historically important is the Tower of Monhegan Light (1849), the
last structure Parris would build in Maine, though his career continued.
Title: Town Hall, Auburn, Elevation 1865
Artist: Gridley J. F. Bryant (United States, 1816-1899),
Medium: Ink and wash on wove paper
Photographer: Melville D. McLean
Permanent Collection: Maine Historic Preservation Commission
Courtesy: The Portland Museum of Art
Gridley J. F. Bryant, a Boston architect who specialized in prison
design, was commissioned to design the Town Hall, Auburn which was
completed in 1865. It was meant as a Civic center for the growing
Portland community. The original Auburn Hall was destroyed by fire in
1864.
Title: Bowdoin College Chapel, Brunswick, Perspective, 1845
Artist: Richard Upjohn, (United States, 1802-1878)
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Permanent Collection: Avery Architectural and Fine Arts University, Columbia University
Courtesy: The Portland Museum of Art
Romanesque influence is apparent in the Bowdoin College Chapel designed by
Richard Upjohn, a noted architect who emigrated to the US from England in
1829. Among Bowdoin's famous alumni are noted novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The exhibition is divided into three parts, the first of which focuses
on the early history of Maine from it's statehood in 1820 when it ceased
to be part of Massachusetts. Fifty drawings form this
historical retrospective featuring twenty-seven separate architects. Some
of the works predate Maine's state existence such as the Museum's McLellan
House built in 1801.
Guest curators of the exhibit are James F. O'Gorman architectural
historian, Wellesley College and Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., the Director
of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
Portland Museum of Art
Three centuries of art comprise the collection of the Portland Museum of
Art, which is located in the downtown arts district of the city.
The visitor has the unique opportunity to enjoy the restored McLelland
House (1801), the L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries (1911), and the
I. M. Pei & Partners designed Charles Shipman Payson Building (1983).
These three structures comprise the museum complex.
The McLelland House was recently restored and is an excellent example
of Federal-era architecture and interior decor.
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