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Collins Gallery
Collins Gallery
The Collins Gallery on Central Library's third floor hosts regular educational and artistic exhibits. The gallery is open the same hours as Central Library, and admission is free.
If you or your organization are interested in exhibiting in the Collins Gallery please review the exhibits policy and complete an application.
Location & hours
- 3rd floor, Central Library
- Monday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Tuesday & Wednesday: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Thursday–Saturday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Sunday: noon–5 p.m.
Featured exhibitions
The Origins of Multnomah County Library: Primary Sources Celebrating Oregon & National Archives Month
October 1–November 23
Archives provide essential and unique information to researchers in all fields. Consisting of primary materials — letters, reports, notes, blueprints, memos, photographs, audio and video recordings, digital files, and more — archives exist in all forms and sizes, ranging from very large federally mandated collections, such as the National Archives, to much smaller informal collections held by private individuals, like we all may have at our homes.
To celebrate Oregon Archive Month and National Archives Month, the Collins Gallery is exhibiting a selection of primary sources on the origins of Multnomah County Library. Using the combined resources of the Multnomah County Archives, the John Wilson Special Collections and Multnomah County Library, this exhibition features photographs, documents, plans and other materials that describe the beginnings and early history of what is now known as Multnomah County Library, which first opened in 1864. The physical features of the library's numerous buildings, including Central Library (which opened in 1913) and the branches, and the library's administrative history will be the major focus of this unique exhibition.
Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times
November 29–December 23
More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other American, yet our knowledge of our most famous president is dominated by a series of iconic images: the son of an illiterate frontier farmer who taught himself to read, the bearded man in the stovepipe hat, the savior of the Union, the Great Emancipator, the martyred leader. This exhibit invites visitors to look beyond the myth. Through Lincoln's own words in speeches, letters and proclamations, explore and understand the 16th president's life, accomplishments and legacy.
Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times is a national traveling exhibition organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The traveling exhibition has been made possible in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to expanding American understanding of human experience and cultural heritage.
Local support is provided by Portland State University; Portland Community College, Cascade Campus; the Friends of History at Portland State University and the Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
Opening Reception
Wednesday, December 2, 6–7:30 p.m.
Central Library, Collins Gallery
Join us for refreshments and a Lincoln trivia contest conducted by Michael Burton, Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission chair. "Illinois" Doug Tracy will perform songs and music from the Lincoln era, and actor Steve Holgate will make a brief presentation as Abraham Lincoln.
Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Town Hall
Thursday, December 3, 7 p.m.
Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, Moriarty Building Auditorium, 705 N. Killingsworth St.
Local Lincoln scholars Richard Etulain and Elliott Trommald will lead a community discussion around topics and issues that Lincoln faced in his own time and which are still relevant today such as race, leadership and power. The topics are intended to invoke a public discourse about Lincoln, his times and the impact he had and still has on America.
Writing Abraham Lincoln
Saturday, December 12, 2–4 p.m.
Central Library, U.S. Bank Room
A reading and discussion with professor Tony Wolk and his students from a recent Portland State University course entitled "Lincoln and Literature." In addition to reading from their stories — which feature an imagined Lincoln — they will briefly discuss our obsessive fascination with Lincoln, especially in this the year of his 200th birthday. Wolk is the author of three novels featuring Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln: A Novel Life, Good Friday and Lincoln's Daughter.