Silver has had special status in European and world art for thousands of years. Besides coins and jewelry, silver was used for objects of practical use, and families often held their wealth in a collection of silver spoons, teapots and other items. When stainless steel, aluminum and titanium became common, the meaning of a family hoard of silver plate shifted. At the same time new industrial uses of silver were discovered, as medical antiseptic and above all, photography. Artisans still make everyday objects out of silver in new and creative ways because the soft, warm, clear and reflective surfaces have enduring appeal. In this gallery modern silver is paired with silver print photography to demonstrate how radically the use and appreciation of silver has changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This display highlights the gift of Portland native Margo Grant Walsh, who donated nearly all the modern silver in the Museum\u2019s collection.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"mirror-mirror","image":{"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-scaled.jpg","id":15206,"extension":"jpg","width":2560,"height":2048,"filesize":412437,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":700,"height":560,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":47774,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-700x560.jpg"},"large":{"width":1308,"height":1046,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":139277,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-1308x1046.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":270,"height":270,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":12957,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-270x270.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":614,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":56172,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-768x614.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":1536,"height":1229,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":182318,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-1536x1229.jpg"},"2048x2048":{"width":2048,"height":1638,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":291433,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-2048x1638.jpg"},"small":{"width":375,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":29436,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-375x500.jpg"},"medium-large":{"width":900,"height":720,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":73508,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-900x720.jpg"},"card":{"width":904,"height":565,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":69670,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-904x565.jpg"},"post":{"width":975,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":72539,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-975x500.jpg"},"hero":{"width":1894,"height":1080,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":232501,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-1894x1080.jpg"}},"original_image":"Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set.jpg"},"all_day":true,"start_date":"2025-11-20 00:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"11","day":"20","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-11-20 23:59:59","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"11","day":"20","hour":"23","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"utc_start_date":"2025-11-20 08:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2025","month":"11","day":"20","hour":"08","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-11-21 07:59:59","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"11","day":"21","hour":"07","minutes":"59","seconds":"59"},"timezone":"America\/Vancouver","timezone_abbr":"","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":false,"show_map_link":false,"hide_from_listings":true,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Exhibitions","slug":"exhibitions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":201,"filter":"raw","id":17,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/17","collection":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":290,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2023-03-28 10:28:29","date_utc":"2023-03-28 17:28:29","modified":"2024-03-07 10:38:06","modified_utc":"2024-03-07 18:38:06","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/venue\/portland-art-museum\/","venue":"Portland Art Museum","description":"
The Museum is conveniently located on the historic Park Blocks in the center of downtown Portland, which is easy to get around by public transit or on foot. The Portland Business Alliance has installed way-finding signs which direct you to the cultural district, where the Museum is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is generally plenty of street parking surrounding the Museum. These spaces range from 1 \u2013 4 hours and can be paid for using a credit card or the Parking Kitty app<\/a>. There are also surface parking lots, and parking garages within 1 \u2013 4 blocks of the Museum. The closest surface lot is located at SW Main St. between SW 10th Ave. and Park Ave, and there are dedicated accessible and van accessible spaces. This lot accepts credit card or the Reef app<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting to get to the Museum by public transportation is straightforward and economical. The bus and streetcar travel directly past the Museum, and the MAX light rail has a stop only four blocks away.\u00a0TriMet\u2019s Trip Planner<\/a>\u00a0gives you step-by-step travel directions from your location by bus, light rail, or streetcar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transportation assistance is available through TriMet\u2019s network of fully accessible bus and MAX lines<\/a> and its LIFT service<\/a>, which is available for trips where a disability prevents the use of bus or MAX.<\/p>","slug":"portland-art-museum","address":"1219 SW Park Ave","city":"Portland","province":"OR","state":"OR","zip":"97205","phone":"(503) 226-2811","stateprovince":"OR","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"Portland Art Museum","description":"<p>The Museum is conveniently located on the historic Park Blocks in the center of downtown Portland, which is easy to get around by public transit or on foot. The Portland […]<\/p>\\n","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/venue\/portland-art-museum\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1219 SW Park Ave","addressLocality":"Portland","addressRegion":"OR","postalCode":"97205"},"telephone":"(503) 226-2811","sameAs":""},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"portlandartmuseum.org?id=290","global_id_lineage":["portlandartmuseum.org?id=290"]},"organizer":[],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Mirror Mirror: Silver in the 20th Century","description":"<p>Silver has had special status in European and world art for thousands of years. Besides coins and jewelry, silver was used for objects of practical use, and families often held […]<\/p>\\n","image":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Peer-Smed-Lona-P-Schaeffer-Tea-and-Coffee-set-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/event\/mirror-mirror\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2025-11-20T00:00:00-08:00","endDate":"2026-11-20T23:59:59-08:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"Portland Art Museum","description":"<p>The Museum is conveniently located on the historic Park Blocks in the center of downtown Portland, which is easy to get around by public transit or on foot. The Portland […]<\/p>\\n","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/venue\/portland-art-museum\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1219 SW Park Ave","addressLocality":"Portland","addressRegion":"OR","postalCode":"97205"},"telephone":"(503) 226-2811","sameAs":""},"performer":"Organization"},"is_virtual":false,"virtual_url":null,"virtual_video_source":""}Public transit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n