The Portland Fine Print Fair at the Portland Art Museum is back for its 12th year in the historic Fields Ballroom on January 24 – 26, 2025. This is your chance to browse and buy at the largest and most comprehensive print fair on the West Coast. Knowledgeable art dealers from across North America and Japan welcome your questions, whether you are a first-time collector or a long-time connoisseur. Prints from the Old Masters to contemporary emerging artists will be on sale, and excellent works can be found in all price ranges.

Need some tips on how to find something that you love? Mary Weaver Chapin, the Museum’s curator of prints and drawings, shares 5 ways to find your next masterpiece.

1. Style: Old or new? Bright or subdued? Big or small? Abstract or hyper-realistic? Western or Japanese? These are just a few questions to help you find your style. If you are new to collecting, the best thing you can do is look at as many prints as possible. Soon you will start to notice what appeals to you. The most important thing is to look, ask questions, and look again.
   
   
2. Type of print: First, don’t be intimidated by the various printing techniques. You don’t need to know the difference between an engraving and a lithograph to enjoy the Print Fair! Just come see what you like. Secondly, if you do love printing techniques, come geek out with us. We will have engravings and etchings, drypoints and aquatint, lithographs, screenprints, woodcuts, and wood engravings. If it is printed, we’ve probably got it. What you won’t find are reproductions—these are all original prints.
   
   
3. Subject: Are you a cat person? More of a landscape or seascape fan? Or perhaps you just need a massive dragon to hang on your wall or a tiny still life of fruit to contemplate. We’ve got you covered. The subjects of the prints range from scenes of everyday life to majestic mountainscapes to complex religious iconography. The same goes for the dates of the prints, too. Whether you fancy a print made 500 years ago or yesterday, the Portland Fine Print Fair will have something to catch your eye. 
   
   
4. Artist: There are too many artists to name, but allow me to drop a few nonetheless. Old Masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Albrecht Dürer rub shoulders with European stars of the modern period such as Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, or American artists like Frances Gearhart. Contemporary artists from across the world are paired with some of our local PNW favorites. Every year there are plenty of artists I’ve not previously encountered, and I’m always learning something new.
   
   
5. Price: Great art can be found at every price, starting at about $100 and going up. Prices are clearly marked on every print.
   
   
6. What else? This is a great chance to learn, and not in the boring read-a-dusty-book kind of way. Learn by looking, ask the exhibitors questions, come to one of my Curator’s Choice group tours, or find me and show me what youlike. Lean over to the person next to you and see what they know. Eavesdrop on the artists discussing techniques. “Learn by shopping”—the most enjoyable way of all!

The Details

Portland Fine Print Fair

Portland Art Museum, Fred & Suzanne Fields Ballroom 

Mark Building, 1119 SW Park Ave.

Free Admission

Saturday, January 25, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sunday, January 26, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Talks & Tours

Saturday, January 25, 10:30 a.m.

Curator’s Choice: Mary Weaver Chapin, PhD

Sunday, January 26, 1:30 p.m.

Curator’s Choice: Mary Weaver Chapin, PhD