Who Is the Director of the Portland Museum of Art?

Art|Art Museum

The Portland Museum of Art is a non-profit art museum in Portland, Maine. It is the largest and oldest art museum in the state of Maine and one of the oldest and most respected art museums in America.

Founded in 1882, the museum boasts an impressive collection of over 20,000 works spanning from antiquity to the present day. The museum is home to some of the best-known works by American artists such as Winslow Homer, Frederic Church, Rockwell Kent and Marsden Hartley. It also has a vast collection of European paintings from the 16th century to the present.

The museum is directed by Mark H.C. Bessire who has been with the institution since 2013. Prior to joining Portland Museum of Art, Mr. Bessire was Director and Chief Curator of Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky for three years. He was also Director/Chief Curator at Bates College Museum of Art for eleven years.

Mr. Bessire has broad experience in contemporary art museums having held positions at other prominent institutions such as The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia), The Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati), The Visual Arts Center at Texas State University (San Marcos) and The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan).

Under his leadership, the Portland Museum of Art has had many successful exhibitions including “Making Mainers: A History Through Art” which featured works from over 120 years; “Marsden Hartley: American Painter Abroad” which explored Hartley’s travels abroad; “Frederic Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage” which focused on Church’s fascination with nature; “Winslow Homer: Traveler & Landscape Painter” which looked at Homer’s travels throughout America; and most recently “The Nature of Modernism: Alfred Stieglitz in Maine” which highlighted his photographic work.

Conclusion:

Mark H. Bessire is currently serving as Director for Portland Museum of Art since 2013, bringing a wealth of experience from his past positions at institutions such as Institute 193 and Bates College Museum of Art. Under his direction, the museum has hosted numerous successful exhibitions that have showcased some amazing pieces from antiquity to today.