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Where should a bronze sculpture of York—famous for its time atop Mount Tabor in 2021—live permanently? The City of Portland wants the public’s input.
Backing up: in 2021, an anonymous artist installed a bronze-painted Styrofoam bust of York on the empty pedestal where the statue of former Oregonian editor Harvey Scott used to stand, before he was toppled by protesters. York was the enslaved man who was the only African-American member of the Lewis and Clark expedition west. Later in 2021, the artist revealed his identity to WW: Portland sculptor Todd McGrain. Around the same time, the original bust was vandalized; the city then removed it.
The City of Portland commissioned McGrain to create an actual bronze sculpture of York, which went up at the Portland Art Museum March 31 and will remain on view through Jan. 31. Where it will live permanently, though, remains undecided.
Visitors to the statue, which is located on the second floor in the Overlook Gallery in PAM, will notice a QR code to take a city-wide survey to determine York’s permanent home. The survey, which is available here, is anonymous and takes 3-5 minutes to complete. It does not mention Mount Tabor specifically as a possible location for York, but asks if respondents want a location in nature, accessible by public transportation, near a community landmark with historic ties to York, among other options.
Today, McGrain’s original Styrofoam Mount Tabor York has been repaired and is on view at Oregon Contemporary, as part of the gallery’s biennial. The biennial is a survey of visual and performance works of art curated by TK Smith, on view through July 5.
Having the York bust up at PAM has been a poignant reminder of the protests in 2020 and 2021, says curator Grace Kook-Anderson.
“A moment of activism has turned into a monument,” Kook-Anderson says. “I think it is really a wonderful moment…As years pass, it gives us more opportunities to reflect on what those years in Portland looked and felt like, and maybe give us a chance to revisit those moments with a little more time and healing and wisdom and reflection.”
GO: “Todd McGrain: Debut of York” at the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave. 503-226-2811, portlandartmuseum.org. 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Sunday, through Jan. 31, 2027. $27.50, free for youth under 17.
GO: York at the 2026 Oregon Contemporary Artists’ Biennial at Oregon Contemporary, 8371 N Interstate Ave. oregoncontemporary.org/2026oregoncontemporaryartistsbiennial. Noon-5 pm Friday-Sunday through July 5. Free.
