Donna Guardino, the owner of the eponymous Guardino Gallery and the catalyst behind the creation of the Alberta Arts District, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, on April 9, 2025. She was 81.

A landmark destination for 28 years, Guardino Gallery has drawn locals and tourists alike for the ever-changing display of art within its three gallery spaces, as well as serving as a touchstone for the Alberta Street community that Donna Guardino helped to reinvent. Oregon ArtsWatch profiled Guardino and the gallery in 2022, as she prepared to open the annual “Day of the Dead” show. 

Donna Guardino was known as a true artists’ gallerist – one who was respected by the artists of Portland for her integrity and for her experience and history in the gallery scene. 

A mentor and a friend

Tributes from Portland’s art community have been pouring in on social media for Guardino, one of Portland’s most respected and admired gallery owners. Many recalled a gallery owner who gave them their first opportunity to show their work, treated them fairly financially, and who became both a mentor and a friend. 

Gail Owen, who has worked for Guardino as her assistant in the gallery since Sal Guardino, Donna’s husband, died, said: “Through the years we became a unit to operate the gallery ,especially when we took the gallery online [during the pandemic]. She was a friend, mentor and confidante.”

“The world is a dimmer place without her in it,” Owen added. “She made a lot of artists’ careers and facilitated quite a few entrepreneurs. [She was] an amazing gallerist with impeccable taste, and the mistress of the art of feng shui.” 

Artist Nanette Wallace noted that Guardino “was a pillar in the art community who gave countless artists their first opportunity to share work in a professional setting. She was so kind and beautiful; she will be deeply missed by myself and so many. I know she will also live on through the massive community of us artists who loved her and who got their start thanks to her.”

Sponsor

Painter Gabe Fernandez noted that “as far as my journey as an artist, all roads originated from Donna and Guardino Gallery. Her brutal honesty and kindness was paramount! So helpful! She took a chance on me when I was brand new to the art scene.”

“Donna Guardino was a powerful force,” wrote artist Heather L. Halpern. “As a fellow arts crusader, she inspired and motivated me [and countless other artists and art enthusiasts]. As a friend, she was incredibly kind, supportive, and fun! Portland won’t be as vibrant without her.”

“She gave me my start as an artist, back in 2007,” said artist Stephanie Brockway, who called Guardino the Queen of Alberta Street. “I could always count on coming to the gallery and having lively conversations and planning shows or just visiting about our lives. They say a life well lived is one that touches many people, and I would say she has touched so, so many. It won’t be the same without her.” 

“She created a community of artists where friendships were born, art shared, and support for what we were doing was always available,” wrote Robyn Lee Williams, assemblage artist and former head of Portland’5 Centers for the Arts. 

Artist Kim Hamblin noted that Guardino not only had a great gallery space, but “she was also a cheerleader, a friend, a mother, a leader, and a teacher to so many of us artists.” 

“Donna was instrumental in giving me and many Portland artists our first opportunity at showing our work in a gallery,” wrote Vancouver artist Cathie Joy Young. “She was kind, generous, encouraging, and she worked so hard to keep Guardino Gallery going strong and she took the lowest percentage from her artists than any gallery out there.” 

“We have lost another treasure in the art world,” wrote artist Hilary Michele Gallager. “Donna Guardino was a powerhouse, an artist and innovator and a well loved icon and gallery owner on Alberta Street. She supported artists and made us all feel a part of a larger community. Her pairings of artists for shows at Guardino Gallery were nothing short of visionary. There is a huge hole in the Portland art scene right now. She will be greatly missed.”

Sponsor

“Anyone who understands the Portland and regional art scene,” said artist Joseph Clifford Blanchette, “knows what a large loss this is. For me it is the loss of a good mentor and a good friend.”

The Queen of Alberta Street

When Donna Guardino and her late husband Sal first arrived in Portland in 1996, Alberta Street was one of Portland’s most neglected urban areas. One local reporter even called it “the most killing street in Portland.” Few restaurants or other businesses were open for business, and it was scarcely the tourist draw that it is today. But the Guardinos had a vision not just for a gallery, but for an arts community. Against the advice of their sons, they purchased half of a block of buildings and began the transformation of their property and of the surrounding neighborhood.

Joseph Clifford Blanchette recalls when the Guardinos acquired the building at the corner of Alberta and Northeast 30th Avenue. “It was cheap and, as working artists themselves, they had a plan of making it both a home and an art gallery and they bought half of the block to create their vision and to create a community of artists and collectors. It was not an easy road, but they were successful beyond their imaginations.”

Not long after opening the gallery, Donna Guardino joined a small group of local business owners who knew that if they wanted the area to change, it would have to come from the Alberta Street neighborhood itself, instead of waiting for the city to step in. Over time more businesses, including restaurants and other galleries, opened. Together they launched Alberta Street’s first Last Thursday event in May 1997. They created the nonprofit Art on Alberta and began to brand the Alberta Arts District as a destination. Many artists who would become part of the Guardino Gallery community first discovered the gallery during Art Walks on Alberta Street.

As a result of Donna Guardino’s efforts and those of other business owners, today Alberta Street is one of the most vibrant and flourishing neighborhoods in Portland. Other galleries have joined Guardino along the stretch from Northeast 14^th Avenue to Northeast 33^rd Avenue, but none is quite like the gallery that started the Alberta Street renaissance. 

Artist Hilary Pfeifer recalled that “it didn’t take long after I moved into the Alberta Arts District to meet this amazing woman who helped rebuild the neighborhood into what it is today. Donna was such an important source of information and inspiration for me during my tenure of community service for Alberta Street. Her gallery reminded me so much of the one my parents ran in Eugene when I was growing up — not only a place to see art, but a hub for the arts community to gather and connect. She will be missed.”

“I can’t imagine Alberta Street without Donna and the gallery,” said artist Carolyn Garcia. “This is a huge loss for the artistic community.”  

A unique gallery model

As a gallery owner, Donna Guardino followed the principle that continuously changing art brings people in, so every month there are new shows. She organized her gallery around a primary gallery in the front, with another, smaller gallery behind it. Each month a show featuring two artists was in the Main Gallery, as well as one or two more artists in the smaller gallery space known as the Feature Area. In addition, a smaller room in the back features works by all of the artists represented by the gallery.

To add to the sense of changing art, she began presenting regular “concept shows” that customers began to look forward to each year, and which became some of her most successful endeavors. The Toy Show, the Day of the Dead Show and the Little Things Show all feature multiple artists working off a single theme. The concepts not only drew back repeat customers, but also allowed her, as the gallery owner, the chance to ensure that all of her artists had regular opportunities to exhibit new work without necessarily being in a solo show. 

Sponsor

A former artist herself, Guardino operated her gallery by her own set of standards. She refused to trap artists into restrictive or exclusive contracts that would limit their abilities to show their work elsewhere. And while some galleries take a large percentage of sales or even require a percentage for any outside sales, Guardino merely had an agreement with the artist for the month they show. If she liked their work, she would select a few of their pieces and keep them on display in the back gallery.   

Part of what enticed local residents and tourists alike was the accessible price point that Guardino offered. Her gallery is one of the few left in Portland that carries a mix of fine arts and crafts in a variety of media, from paintings to ceramics, metalworks, prints, textiles, and even jewelry.

Guardino Gallery has been open to both emerging and established artists. Owen noted that Donna would interview any artist who would make an appointment with her, no matter their skill level. 

But once you were part of the Guardino Gallery community, she was there for you, and, as the tributes to her attest, she formed a personal relationship with each of her artists, helping each one be successful.

Moving forward

Donna Guardino is survived by her two sons, Galen Beals and Teo Guardino; Teo’s wife, Amber Guardino; grandson Nino Beals and his wife, Rose Beals; John Gill (brother) and wife Pat Gill; Rebecca (sister) and husband Tom Cope; Laurie Gill (sister) and husband George Weiler; Tim Gill (brother); many nieces and nephews; and the broader art community that consider her family.

Plans are under way for a public celebration of life for Donna Guardino near the end of June.

Guardino Gallery, at 2939 N.E. Alberta St. in Portland, remains open until further notice, with its regular hours of operation 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. You can find the current exhibition schedule here.

Sponsor