by Cobb to be the smallest desirable gallery space. Around these square spaces, granite strips also delineate rectangular circulation spaces around each square. Over certain granite strips, Cobb placed walls with wide cutout doors to shape various sized gallery spaces. To reflect and accommodate the diversity of the Homer paintings, Cobb not only strategically placed walls to create different sized gallery spaces, but also varied the ceiling height from 12.5 to 25 to 37.5 feet (3.8–11.4 m) high. These diverse gallery spaces were intentionally designed to provide no clear path through the museum. Cobb claimed that this layout reflected the lack of ordering grand boulevards and grids in the modest cities of New England. Further, Cobb’s layout of the galleries allows a visitor standing in one gallery to see glimpses of several other galleries, often on multiple levels, through the wide gallery doors. This gives the visitor a sense of adventure and anticipation as he or she travels through the galleries. Perhaps the most compelling feature of the galleries is the lighting, rivaling that of Louis Kahn’s Kimball Gallery. The galleries are lit with cascading domed ceilings, which are filled with daylight from superimposed octagonal clerestory lanterns based on the Dulwich College Art Gallery by John Soane. Clerestories permit maximum sunlight to enter the gallery while avoiding direct rays hitting the gallery walls. This natural light is accompanied by incandescent track lighting, although this artificial lighting is often left off during the day. The shifting light entering the museum animates, diffuses, and shapes the galleries below, celebrating the museum's collections with “Portland Light.” Historical inspirations In designing the Payson Building, many significant works of modern architecture influenced Cobb. The façades of Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India (semicircle openings, large sections of plain brick) and Kahn’s Phillips Exeter Academy Library arcade in New Hampshire partially inspired the façade of the Payson building. The famous lighting from the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, and the lanterns of Ely Cathedral inspired lighting for the Payson Building. Further influences include a portico by Ledoux, the Doge’s Palace in Venice, and other precedents. Regionalism Beyond these more famous influences, Cobb also had a strong desire to link the Payson building to Maine. He remarked, “The Portland Museum is a regional museum in a region that is itself a museum, so I believe I had an obligation to