October 11, 2025 through November 05, 2025
Bill Kirby • Portraits of King’s Hill
“Portraits of King’s Hill”
On a quiet fall morning in Portland’s King’s Hill neighborhood I discovered historic homes illuminated by soft light on their century-old facades. What began as a few images soon became a project to explore the neighborhood’s history, atmosphere, and distinctive architectural styles. Portraits of King’s Hill is a series of photogravure prints—vignettes that capture each residence’s character and presence.
King’s Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, yet the future of such neighborhoods is uncertain. Pressures of growth and change create tensions between the need for affordable housing and the preservation of historic neighborhoods. My aim is not to resolve that tension, but to invite viewers to see these homes for their design, craftsmanship, and place in Portland’s history.
Whether regarded as works of art or symbols of heritage, they remind us that place matters. What we choose to preserve, and how, says as much about our present as it does about our past. I invite reflection on what we see in these houses, and what their presence suggests about how Portland’s neighborhoods might be shaped for the future.
Bill Kirby:
I have been making photographs for more than 60 years, beginning when my father sent me to summer camp with his Brownie Six-20 camera. I learned composition and design from classes in oil painting, drawing and stained glass and about photography by self-study, photo tours, workshops and connections with other photographers, the Portland Photographer’s Forum, and the on-line photography community.
My photographs have been exhibited at the Oregon Society of Artists, the LightBox Photographic Gallery, in Portland Photographer’s Forum juried shows and also on-line including Black & White Magazine and the Worldwide Pinhole Day Gallery.
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