Finale

We spent several hours at the amazing Portland Art Museum today, entranced by everything we saw.

There are two fantastic exhibits that run through May 8 that should not be missed: (1) the 2016 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards, diverse and fascinating, and (2) Contemporary Native Photographers and the Edward Curtis Legacy: Zig Wilson, Wendy Red Star, Will Wilson. We'd seen some of the Edward Curtis photos in Bellingham some months back at the Whatom Museum, but this exhibit had many more, and the contemporary photographs by Native American photographers added depth and richness to the exhibit.

From there, we went to the Native American Art galleries, thoughtfully organized and also thought-provoking. Located on two floors of the museum's main building, these galleries are well worth a visit on their own.

We also explored the American and European Art galleries, where I was particularly taken by several small sculptures, including the one I blipped today: "La femme assise (Seated Woman, ca. 1918-1921)" by Elie Nadelman (American, born in Poland, 1882-1946). I love its simple expressiveness.

A late lunch at a brewpub and a few tastings at another wrapped up a long, but very pleasant last day in this remarkable city. I will miss the diversity of my sister and brother bus riders, the pleasure of walking to so many interesting places, and the simplicity of living in one room for a week, but am very much looking forward to downloading photos to my iMac and using a real keyboard!

Our six-hour train ride home, with a number of stops between Portland and Bellingham, will be a restful interlude before we're back to our usual routines.

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