PORTLAND — “The Lay of the Land,” a Portland Museum of Art exhibit focusing on landscapes, will feature paintings, watercolors and prints by a diverse group of artists, many native to Maine.

The art show of about 25 works acquired by the Friends of the Collection (1983–2010) will open Jan. 15 and remain up through May 8.

Featuring masterworks by such artists as Charles Codman, Harrison Bird Brown, John Calvin Stevens, Robert Henri, John Walkerand Jules Olitski, the exhibition will chart how different artists approached the tradition of landscape painting over time.

Codman, considered Portland’s “first resident landscape painter,” for instance, drew inspiration from the romantic landscapes of 18th-century French painter Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), and infused his scenes of Maine with dramatic emphasis.

A century later, color-field painter Olitski applied saturated color to canvas to create abstract painted visions of nature.

From Maine to France, from Gibeon Bradbury to David Driskell, the exhibition will cover diverse terrain historically, artistically and culturally.

The museum is at Seven Congress Square in the downtown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with I.D., $4 for youth ages 6 to 17; children under 6 admitted free. The museum is free on Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org.