Cape Ann Museum

Cape Ann Museum The Cape Ann Museum tells multiple stories, all relating to a single remarkable place.
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⛵️ Celebrating Cape Ann’s place in American art & history since 1875.
📍🟩 CAM Green - 13 Poplar St., Gloucester, MA
🖼️ “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By The Sea” on view June 30-Sept. 27 From its earliest days as a fishing and shipping port, to its mid-19th century role in the granite industry, to its singular charms of light and sea that have attracted countless artists from the 19th century to the pr

esent, Cape Ann boasts a rich and varied culture of nationally significant historical, industrial, and artistic achievement. The Museum's fine art collection includes the largest grouping of works by native son and renowned marine artist, Fitz Henry Lane, as well as work by other prominent painters and sculptors who lived on, visited or were inspired by Cape Ann. The work of contemporary Cape Ann artists is also collected and exhibited. The permanent collection includes fine and decorative arts, artifacts from the major industries of the area - the fisheries and granite quarrying, two historic houses and an extensive library and archives.

“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” wouldn’t be possible without the support and artwork loans from 26 prominent nati...
08/29/2026

“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” wouldn’t be possible without the support and artwork loans from 26 prominent national and private institutional collections, including the Ackland Art Museum, UNC-Chapel Hill!
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“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” explores the artistic bond between three pivotal 20th century American artists—Milton Avery (1885–1965), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), and Mark Rothko (1903–1970)—whose shared summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s had a lasting impact on their work. The exhibit is being presented through a collaboration between the Cape Ann Museum and The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.).
On view at the Cape Ann Museum from June 30–September 27, 2026, the exhibition will then be displayed at The Phillips Collection from October 24, 2026–January 24, 2027.
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Learn more and reserve tickets for the Cape Ann Museum at
https://www.capeannmuseum.org/exhibition/avery-gottlieb-rothko-by-the-sea/. __________________________
Milton Avery (1885–1965), “George Constant Fishing,” 1945. Watercolor on paper, 22 13/16 x 31 3/16 in. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ackland Art Museum. Bequest of Charles and Isabel Eaton, 2009.31.6. © 2026 The Milton Avery Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Four more chances to travel back to the 1700s on a White-Ellery House Tour on Sundays, through September 20, from 2-3 pm...
08/28/2026

Four more chances to travel back to the 1700s on a White-Ellery House Tour on Sundays, through September 20, from 2-3 pm!
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The White-Ellery House, built in 1710 for the Reverend John White—Gloucester’s first settled minister in First Parish—was situated in Gloucester’s Town Green, the center of the community at that time. The house has been owned by the Museum since 1947 and is one of just a handful of early eighteenth-century structures in the region exhibiting much of its original interior detailing.
The tour will share who lived in the house over time, its exterior structure and interior features, and the adventure of being moved to make way for the Route 128 rotary.

📍The White-Ellery House at CAM Green is located at 13 Poplar St, Gloucester, MA 01930.
🎟️ Free and open to the public. This is a drop in program and space is limited, so it is first come first serve.
Learn more about the White-Ellery House at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/properties/the-white-ellery-house/.

08/27/2026

Read and hear directly from Milton Avery’s daughter, March Avery Cavanaugh, and grandson, Sean Cavanaugh, in an interview conducted by “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” Guest Curator Eliza Rathbone! Pick up the exhibition catalogue to read along with the audio recording preserved in the CAM archives.

🎙️ Find the full recording online at https://capeannmuseum.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/march-avery-and-sean-cavanaugh-with-eliza-rathbone-a-conversation./99009.
📖 Stop by the CAM Store—open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm—to pick up your own copy of the exhibition catalogue or order online at https://store.capeannmuseum.org/.
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Inserted archival photograph: “‘Mother Ann,’ Gloucester, Mass.” c. 1905. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum.
Inserted works by Milton Avery (1885–1965):
(1) “Porch Sitters” (detail), 1944. Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper. The James Collection. Promised gift of Janet and William Ellery James to the Cape Ann Museum.
(2) Detail from Cape Ann Sketchbook c. 1930s. Pencil. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum. Gift of Sally Avery, 1991 [2753].

Designer dogs for ! 🐶 Enjoy these canine companions as illustrated by the Folly Cove Designers.____________________Ink ...
08/26/2026

Designer dogs for ! 🐶 Enjoy these canine companions as illustrated by the Folly Cove Designers.
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Ink on cotton, Folly Cove Designers Collection of the Cape Ann Museum:
(1) Eino Natti (1909–1975), “Tempu,” 1952.
(2) Faith Harvey (1921–2008), “Travelers Three,” undated.
(3) Zoe Eleftherio (b. 1930), “Tally Ho,” 1953.
(4) Mary Maletskos (1918–1993), “Blueberry Hill,” 1959.

🎉 Imagine getting an entire book of well-wishes from your friends and fellow artists on your birthday 🥹. in 1961, Aldr...
08/25/2026

🎉 Imagine getting an entire book of well-wishes from your friends and fellow artists on your birthday 🥹.
in 1961, Aldro Hibbard got just that for his 75th birthday! Born on August 25, 1886, Aldro T. Hibbard (1886-1972) was a founding member and president of the Rockport Art Association. He is known as a plein air landscape painter specializing in snowy scenes of Cape Ann and Vermont, of which he completed hundreds of canvases throughout his life.
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Explore the whole book filled with notes from artists like Harrison Cady, Stow Wengenroth, Margaret Fitzhugh Browne, Richard and Kitty Parsons Recchia, Roger Curtis, Elizabeth de Vicq, and Tom Nicholas online at https://capeannmuseum.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/aldro-t.-hibbard-birthday-book/37271?item=37273.
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Aldro T. Hibbard Birthday Book, 1961. Contains messages and signatures from the artist members of the Rockport Art Association. From the Guestbooks Collection of the Cape Ann Museum Library & Archives. Museum Purchase, 2022 [2022.072].

Study art outdoors at CAM Green in the upcoming Pastel Workshop: The Nature of Color with Kimberly Jermain on Saturday, ...
08/24/2026

Study art outdoors at CAM Green in the upcoming Pastel Workshop: The Nature of Color with Kimberly Jermain on Saturday, September 12, from 10:30 am–12:30 pm!
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Discover the power of color in the natural world during this two-hour outdoor workshop led by artist and author Kimberly Collins Jermain. Set on the CAM Green, this hands-on session introduces participants to working with pastel through an exercise from Jermain’s newly published book “The Nature of Color,” which presents her innovative, nature-based approach to understanding and using color in art.

ℹ️ Materials included. Class time is primarily outdoors; please dress appropriately for the weather.
This program will take place at the Carlson Education Center, CAM Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.
🎟️ Registration required. Learn more and register at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/event/pastel-workshop-the-nature-of-color-with-kimberly-jermain/.
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Artwork courtesy of Kimberly Collins Jermain.

Got more Gottlieb! The Gottlieb Foundation has provided an exhibition companion guide to “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By t...
08/23/2026

Got more Gottlieb! The Gottlieb Foundation has provided an exhibition companion guide to “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” on their website featuring photos, letters, and accounts of the times Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko and their families spent together on Cape Ann in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Read more at https://www.gottliebfoundation.org/blog/2026/8/18/avery-gottlieb-amp-rothko-by-the-sea.
Plan your visit to “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea,” on view at the Cape Ann Museum through September 27, 2026, at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/exhibition/avery-gottlieb-rothko-by-the-sea/.
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(1) Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), “Untitled (Two Gloucester Sketches),” c. 1934. Pencil and crayon on paper. Collection of Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation. © 2026 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.
(2) The Gottlieb Foundation website.

Can’t get enough of the Folly Cove Designers? Join us at the Sawyer Free Library on Friday, August 28 from 3:00-4:30 pm ...
08/23/2026

Can’t get enough of the Folly Cove Designers? Join us at the Sawyer Free Library on Friday, August 28 from 3:00-4:30 pm for a screening of the documentary “Virginia Lee Burton: A Sense of Place.”
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In celebration of renowned author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and the upcoming anniversary of her birthday on August 30, there will be a special showing of the award-winning documentary film “Virginia Lee Burton: A Sense of Place,” produced by Christine Lundberg, as a collaboration of the Cape Ann Museum, the Sawyer Free Library and 1623 Studios.
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Learn more and register through the Sawyer Free Library at
https://sawyerfreelibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/hold-virginia-lee-burton-a-sense-of-place-documentary-screening/.
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(1, Left to Right): Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios, Aino Clarke, Louise Kenyon, Hetty Beatty Whitney, Ida Bruno. photo for Life Magazine by Harold Carter, Sept. 19, 1945.
(2) “Virginia Lee Burton: A Sense of Place” cover.

08/22/2026

Can we normalize a chill afternoon of museum-going and drawing your friends?
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The act of drawing invites us to slow down and notice our surroundings. Time pauses, our minds slow, and the longer we look the more we delight in the feeling of being curious—a great formula for making wonderful connections! As we imagine Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko take out their sketchpads to draw one another, we can sense the joy of being fully present for those we hold dear.
We invite you to draw a friend in this extension of the exhibition “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea.” It could be the person you come to the Museum with, someone you know well but who is far away, or a friend from the community. Then add your art to our friendship wall or surprise your friend with a gift!
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Learn more about the exhibition on view through September 27, 2026, and plan your visit at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/exhibition/avery-gottlieb-rothko-by-the-sea/.

A Rothko of our own. 💙Yesterday, the Cape Ann Museum received a monumental and generous gift from artist Mark Rothko’s s...
08/21/2026

A Rothko of our own.
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Yesterday, the Cape Ann Museum received a monumental and generous gift from artist Mark Rothko’s son, Dr. Christopher Rothko, who donated his father’s 1934 watercolor and gouache painting, “Untitled (wharf, Gloucester, Massachusetts),” to the Museum’s permanent collection. The painting is a signature piece in the current exhibition, “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea,” which tells the story of Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, and Milton Avery, three New York artists and friends who summered together on Cape Ann off and on for over three decades. The painting provides a glimpse of Gloucester’s Inner Harbor as seen from East Gloucester. Included in the composition in the foreground are fish flakes on a pier jutting out into the water and a wharf structure; in the distance, the city’s main waterfront can be seen.
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“My father said that all art was inherently of its time. But sometimes, even with a master of abstraction like Mark Rothko, art can also be inherently of its place,” Dr. Rothko said. “The richly-hued watercolor of Gloucester Harbor that I am gifting to the Cape Ann Museum is such a piece, capturing details from nearly 100 years ago that can still be seen today. My gift reflects my genuine love for this remarkable town and, I am certain, echoes my father’s feelings from his two extended stays—stays that sparked a vivid response from his brush. Now this watercolor is back home where it will be treasured and where it may evoke an extra smile of recognition.”
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Learn more about the exhibition on view through September 27, 2026, and plan your visit to see this treasured painting at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/exhibition/avery-gottlieb-rothko-by-the-sea/.
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Mark Rothko (1903-1970), "Untitled (wharf, Gloucester, Massachusetts)," 1934. Watercolor on construction paper, 12 1/4 × 15 in. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum. Gift of Christhopher Rothko, 2026 [2026.022.001]. © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Address

27 Pleasant Street
Gloucester, MA
01930

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+19782830455

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