Follow Along!

Bring the Cape Ann Museum with you wherever you go by following us on social media! Stay up to date on upcoming events and Museum news, get a daily dose of art and history, and encounter something you’ve never seen before.  

And discover mysteries on Twitter:

---

Make sure to follow our other accounts on Instagram for specialized content:

CAM Teen Arts Council: @cam_teens 
CAM Store: @capeannmuseumstore 
CAM Library & Archives: @camla1875   

Stay in touch and tag us in photos of your visits to the Museum with #capeannmuseum!  

Sculpting Self: A year-long community art project

This Veteran’s Day, the Cape Ann Museum is proud to announce a year-long community art project inspired by Gloucester-based sculptor Walker Hancock, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was pivotal member of the Monuments Men. Inspired by Hancock’s Basketball Player Series, a featured part of the Museum’s collections, every eighth grader on Cape Ann will be given the opportunity to create a small sculpture depicting themselves doing their favorite activity during the 2021-2022 school year.

In addition to learning about Hancock, students will learn how to create their own sculpture out of wire armature and clay. This hands-on activity will create a safe space for students to participate in important discussions about identity, representation, and body image. CAM Educators will visit classrooms throughout the school year, culminating in an exhibition of the student work and the Hancock sculptures in the spring of 2022.

Inspired by the success of the Community Portraits project, which included 637 portraits from across Cape Ann, the Museum will also be creating opportunities for community members to make their own sculptures to take home. 

Cape Ann residents of all ages get to visit for free on Second Saturdays. This Saturday, visitors can see the Hancock sculptures and then stop by the CAM Studio to make a sculpture. The Teen Arts Council will coordinate their own special Teen Art Night on November 20 where anyone age 13-19 can make a sculpture with their peers.

---

Upcoming Events

Second Saturdays: Sculpting Self
November 13, 10:00 am — 3:00 pm
CAM Studio at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
This program is free and open to the public.
Museum admission is free for Cape Ann residents on Second Saturdays.

CAM Book Club
The House on Ipswich Marsh & Swimming to the Top of the Tide
November 18, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
A virtual meeting on Zoom, registration required.

CAM Talks: Cape Ann and Monhegan Island Artists
with Judith A. Curtis
November 20, 1:00 pm
CAM Auditorium at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free for members, $10 for non-members, registration required.
Also live-streamed on Facebook and Vimeo.

Teen Art Night
November 20, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
CAM Studio at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free for teens age 13 – 19, registration required.

Shop, Sip, Support!
November 30, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Gift Shop at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Reserve Tickets

Author’s Talk with Cape Ann Poets
December 4, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
CAM Auditorium at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free for members, $10 for non-members, registration required.
Also live-streamed on Facebook and Vimeo.

Middle Street Walk
December 11, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to the public, more information here.

Susanna Natti reading The Magic Christmas Tree by Lee Kingman
December 11, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
CAM Auditorium at the Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to the public, registration required.

December Vacation Week
Monday, December 27 – Friday, December 31
9:00 am – 12:00 (optional afternoons to 3:00 pm)
Offered in partnership with Art Haven
Registration will be available through Art Haven.

CAPE ANN MUSEUM
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

CAPE ANN MUSEUM GREEN
13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

(978) 283-0455

www.capeannmuseum.org

Exhibit on display from July 11 to the end of the year

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (June 2021) – On Sunday, July 11, the Cape Ann Museum will open Homeport, a special exhibition of lithographs, dry point drawings, and watercolors by Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978) along with drawings by contemporary artist Adin Murray who also works in black and white and from nature. The exhibition will be on display through the end of the year.

“The works of Wengenroth and Murray in their detail and intricacy attest to the experience of place, a love of drawing and desire to observe nature with complete reverence,” said Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director.

Wengenroth was born in New York and began experimenting with lithography during the 1930s. First introduced to this country in the 1830s, lithography reached the height of its popularity during the mid-19^th century.  When Wengenroth took it up, it was no longer the main medium for the print world, however, he was keenly aware of its artistic possibilities, and, with the early encouragement of fellow artist George Ennis, devoted his life to the art. Without color, viewers are invited to consider the detail of each print and reflect on how the artist created the illusion of color through his careful attention to detail and his masterful use of light and shade.  During his long and successful career, Wengenroth created hundreds of prints, capturing images of New England and Cape Ann during a period of rapid change.

Wengenroth first came to Cape Ann between 1923 and 1925 when he was studying at the Art Students League. He came back in the summer of 1934 when his Cape Ann lithographs were exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City. He visited regularly and became a permanent resident of Rockport, MA in 1974 after marrying Harriet Matson.

Adin Murray’s work shares much in common with that of Wengenroth, particularly his drawings done in graphite and from nature.  Murray was born in Manchester, MA, and holds an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design.  The precision reflected in his drawings, many of which are small in scale, is remarkable and invites viewers to look closer and deeper into each composition.  Like Wengenroth’s prints, Murray’s black and white drawings are alive and engaging, filling our imaginations with the colors and nuances of the landscape that surrounds us. 

The Homeport exhibition will include two lectures. These in-person events will be livestreamed for free on Facebook and Vimeo – offering visitors near and far the chance to engage deeply with the exhibition and the Museum’s extensive collection. In person, tickets are free for CAM members or $10 for the general public.

Granite & Graphite: Drawing the Cape Ann Landscape

with Adin Murray

Saturday, July 24 at 3:00 pm

Free for members, $10 for non-members

Demystifying the Lithograph

with Carolyn Muskat of Muskat Studios

Saturday, October 2 at 2:00 pm

Free for members, $10 for non-members

High-Res Images for Homeport

Sculptures, photographs on display at CAM Green, June 18 to July 30

Brad Story Anhinga, 2011. Wood, Epoxy, Fiberglass and Found Objects. Collection of Mollie and John Byrnes.

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (June 2021) – Drawing inspiration from the vast Great Marsh, Essex sculptor Brad Story and Ipswich photographer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly are showcasing works in a special exhibition at the Janet & William Ellery James Center at Cape Ann Museum Green from June 18 to July 30. Each artist has been inspired by the natural beauty of the surroundings on the North Shore and in particular The Great Marsh which extends from Cape Ann up to the New Hampshire border.

“The sculptures and photographs by each artist are particularly striking as they reflect the genuine beauty of our local landscape,” said Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker. “As we celebrate the opening of our new CAM Green campus, they are well suited as our featured artists in this setting, melding historic buildings, contemporary art, and bucolic pastures. Both elevate the region’s natural beauty to an artform.”

Barker said this is the first of three exhibitions and related programming that will safely engage the community during the lingering pandemic and make use of the open space at CAM Green. As of June 18, the campus will be open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. 

Brad Story is a native of Essex and lives and works on the edge of The Great Marsh. After graduating from college in 1969, he returned home to work with his father, Dana Story, in the family shipyard. The Storys have been building boats in Essex since the 1660s. After 27 years of working in the boat yard, Story turned to designing and building three-dimensional works of art that combine his fascination with airplanes, birds, and boat building. Using nature as his point of departure and materials such as wood and fiberglass, he creates sculptures that capture imaginations and lift spirits. As one critic observed, his works “conjure scenes from the Daedalus’ feather-and-wax myth to Leonardo’s drawings for an ornithopter, to the one-man gliders constructed by Otto Lilienthal in the 1890s.”

Dorothy Kerper Monnelly. Salt Marsh Island, Clouds Ipswich, MA – May, 2001. Archival Silver Gelatin Print from a 4×5 Negative.

Dorothy Kerper Monnelly has been photographing in black and white for decades. Both fascinated and inspired by the 20,000-acre Great Marsh, it was the subject of her 2006 book, “Between Lane and Sea: The Great Marsh,” which was republished in 2020. Over the course of her career, Monnelly’s photographs have been celebrated by conservation groups, and her large-scale silver gelatin prints are in the collections of several museums including the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

In mid-September, the Museum will host another Great Marsh-related exhibition at the Pleasant Street campus. Two paintings of the marsh  by Martin Johnson Heade (1819 – 1904) will be juxtaposed alongside works by photographer, Martha Hale Harvey (1863 – 1949), whose glass plate negatives belong to the Museum.

The Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, Brad Story, and the Great Marsh exhibition will include two virtual lectures. In response to the continued limits on large indoor gatherings, the Museum continues to offer gallery talks online with the CAM Virtual Lecture Series. These regular online events—lectures, discussions, presentations, gallery tours, artists talks and more—offer visitors near and far the chance to engage deeply with the Museum’s extensive collection from the safety home. In person tickets are free for CAM members or $10 for the general public. The lectures will be live streamed for free on Facebook and Vimeo.

Thursday, June 24 at 1:00 pm

Photographing The Great Marsh

With Dorothy Kerper Monnelly and Doug Stewart

Author, Ipswich resident and Museum docent Doug Stewart will sit down with photographer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly to discuss her photographs of The Great Marsh. Their conversation will cover the inspiration and process behind her black and white photographs and what they reveal about the everchanging landscape of the marsh. This virtual event will be streamed online via Facebook and Vimeo.

Thursday, July 8 at 2:00 pm

From Boats to Birds, A Sculptors Journey

With Brad Story and Harold Burnham

Join CAM for a conversation between sculptor Brad Story and Harold Burnham, a master boat designer, shipwright and sailmaker. In this conversation, Story and Burnham will explore the relationship between ships and sculptures and how they’re tied to Cape Ann.

LINK TO HIGH RES IMAGES: https://www.dropbox.com/t/eCTD4VXVETjNJeHB

For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester.

In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus includes three historic buildings – the White-Ellery House (1710), the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), and an adjacent barn (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   Starting on June 18, the CAM Green will be open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Admission is free.  

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff, and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As of June 1, 2021 the Museum at Pleasant Street will be resuming pre-COVID operating hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday  1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.   For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (June 2021) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to announce the generous donation of over one million photos from the vast and historically significant archive of the Gloucester Daily Times by North of Boston Media Group. This important local photo collection of Cape Ann events, people, and historic moments dates from 1980 to 2005 and will be housed at the Museum’s Library & Archives collections.

“This is an extraordinary repository of photography capturing Cape Ann’s illustrious history, and it shows how irreplaceable local journalism is in chronicling our communities,” said Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director. “We cannot thank the Gloucester Daily Times and North of Boston Media Group enough for recognizing the historic value of their photography over the years and understanding why it is so vital to protect and preserve these images in perpetuity.”

The Gloucester Daily Times was founded in 1888 and has been documenting the region’s activities ever since. An award-winning newspaper, the photographers who captured these images are well known and produced exceptional work including Amy Sweeney, Cristin Gisler Bradley, Paul Bilodeau, Josh Reynolds, Mike Dean, and Bart Piscitello.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to permanently archive our photo collection from the Gloucester Daily Times at the Cape Ann Museum,” said Times Editor David Olson. “Local journalism captures the important moments of communities, and we’re glad to ensure access to these images – some award-winning, some historic, some simply relatable – for future generations on Cape Ann. It’s also important for Times journalists to know their work matters as a chronicle of history. Everyone benefits from this arrangement – the Times, the Museum, and our community.”

The collection is primarily centered around photographic negatives on 35mm film and digital images on compact disks and memory cards. Also included are photographic prints from earlier decades as well as the vast newspaper clipping “morgue” which gives unique insight into 20^th century newspaper journalism. As is the case with all photograph collections in the CAM Library & Archives’ care, it will be fully accessible and available to researchers. The Times retains its rights to the images.

Digitizing select images has already begun, and the Museum will be integrating many of these into upcoming exhibits, through future issues of its online periodical, CAM Connects, and in 2023 will be hosting a large scale exhibition at the Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green looking at over three decades of Gloucester Daily Times photojournalism. For now, the collection is being stored, preserved, and categorized at the climate-controlled James Center.

The collection holds many familiar images from full front-page photos of historic times on Cape Ann to picturesque feature photos to game-winning moments by young athletes. Trenton Carls, the Museum’s Librarian & Archivist, cites the incredible reach of the collection as its most exciting aspect: “Many photograph collections that come to the Museum are usually very specific in scope, covering a certain event, by a specific photographer, or a certain time period. With this expansive collection, the Museum will be able to share the stories of an entire generation of people and almost three decades worth of events and moments from our community.”

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   Starting on June 18, 2021, the CAM Green will be open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 pm.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m and Sunday,  1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Timed tickets are recommended for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

Featured artists include: Chris Williams, Ken Hruby, Loren Doucette, Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, and Brad Story

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (May 2021) – To highlight the work of local contemporary sculptors, painters, and artists, the Cape Ann Museum will host a series of monthly virtual lectures through July 8.

“With our virtual lecture series, we wanted to pivot and focus on the living artists who call Cape Ann their home, carrying on this area’s tradition as a destination for painters, sculptors, writers, poets, and all kinds of artists who are inspired by the beauty and history of this special place,” said Museum Director Oliver Barker. “With the virtual format, we can reach a much wider audience, and we welcome everyone to join us.” The lectures are free to members and $10 for non-members.

Here are the details:

Conversations with Contemporary Sculptors with Chris Williams and Ken Hruby

Saturday, May 22 at 1:00 pm

Pre-register on zoom

Free for members, $10 for non-members

Join Cape Ann sculptors Chris Williams and Ken Hruby during this virtual lecture live-streamed from the Cape Ann Museum Courtyard. Chris Williams, who works and lives in Essex, created the Gloucester Sea Serpent specifically for CAM in 2019 to honor Ronda Faloon, who served as executive director for 13 years. In addition, he has created pieces for Logan International Airport, Kendall Square in Cambridge, and Salem State University, among others.

Ken Hruby’s sculpture Uneasy Crown, Uneasy Chair, Uneasy Piece has been at CAM since 2008 when it was installed in memory of past Museum president Harold Bell. His work has been shown in numerous group and solo shows on the east coast and is included in several private and public collections, including the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. The two Cape Ann artists will discuss their pieces on display, their processes, and their current work.

Pride in the Archives

Wednesday, June 2 at 4:00 pm on Zoom

Free for members of CAM and Historic New England, $10 for non-members

To kick off Pride Month, the Cape Ann Museum presents Pride in the Archives, a participatory discussion on the challenges and rewards of interpreting LGBTQ+ history based on archival materials. This virtual panel discussion will start with the story of Eastern Point residents Piatt Andrew, Henry Davis Sleeper, and their circle — collectively known as “Dabsville” — and continue with a consideration of Andrew and Sleeper’s friendship with neighbors John Hays Hammond, Jr. and Leslie Buswell referencing archival documents from the collections of CAM and Historic New England. Tripp Evans, author of Grant Wood: A Life, will be joined by Martha Van Koevering, Site Manager of the Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, and CAM Archivist/Librarian Trenton Carls to discuss how these specific examples provide a window into both the importance and the difficulties of actively collecting, crafting, and sharing LGBTQ+ history.

Contemporary Plein Air with Loren Doucette

Friday, June 11 at 1:00 pm

Pre-register on zoom

Free for members, $10 for non-members

As a peninsula known for its light, waters, and granite, Cape Ann has attracted plein air painters since the form began. In this virtual lecture, Cape Ann Artist Loren Doucette will talk about how contemporary artists like herself both draw inspiration and diverge from this tradition. These painters, while still working from observation, synthesize the information seen on the landscape through poetic expression rather than interpreting it realistically.

Starting with works in the Museum’s collection, including traditional plein air paintings by Aldro Hibbard and more interpretive paintings by Marsden Hartley and Nell Blaine, Doucette will discuss the difference between traditional plein air painting and some of the painters, past and present, that express a more abstracted version of the landscape. This virtual lecture will highlight the stories of artists who, with a freedom deeply rooted in experimentation and innovation, depart from traditional plein air painting to create a vision uniquely their own.

Thursday, June 24 at 1:00 pm

Photographing the Great Marsh

With Dorothy Kerper Monnelly and Doug Stewart

CAM Docent Doug Stewart will sit down with photographer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly to discuss her photographs of the Great Marsh, on display at the Janet & William Ellery James Center from June 28 – July 30. The Great Marsh was the subject of Monnelly’s 2007 book Between Lane and Sea, The Great Marsh which was just republished in 2020. Their conversation will cover the inspiration and process behind her black and white photographs and what they reveal about the everchanging landscape of the marsh. This virtual event will be streamed online via Facebook and Vimeo.

Thursday, July 8 at 2:00 pm

From Boats to Birds, A Sculptors Journey

With Brad Story and Harold Burnham

Join CAM for a conversation between Harold Burnham, a master boat designer, shipwright and sailmaker, and Essex sculptor Brad Story. After graduating from college in 1969, Story returned home to work with his father, Dana Story, in the family shipyard. The Storys had been building boats in Essex since the 1660s and the business was in young Story’s blood.  After 27 years working in the yard, Story gave it up, turning to designing and building three-dimensional works of art that combine his fascination with airplanes, birds and boat building. In this conversation, Story and Burnham will explore the relationship between ships and sculptures and how they’re tied to Cape Ann.

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.

MEDIA CONTACTS:            

Ashley Elias
Teak Media
(213) 400-3402
Ashley@teakmedia.com

Rebecca Robison

Cape Ann Museum

(978) 283-0455 x 124

rebeccarobison@capeannmuseum.org

Held on Saturdays at 10 a.m., May 8 to 29

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (May 2021) – To continue engagement with children and families, the Cape Ann Museum is offering free family yoga classes every Saturday at 10 a.m. in the month of May. Families will get the opportunity to pose like a sculpture on the lawn of CAM Green with yoga teacher Erin McKay from Treetop Yoga. The four-week series will allow parents and children to do yoga together outside while safely socially distanced.

Yoga attendees will also be given a take home packet of art materials to participate in CAM’s ongoing Community Portrait Project. Started in January 2020, the project seeks to create a collective portrait of the Cape Ann community, before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. All of the collected portraits will be installed in Quilted Together, an exhibition in the Janet & William Ellery James Center at CAM Green from September 24 – November 5, 2021.

The free yoga classes begin on May 8 at 10:00 a.m. and will be held on May 15, May 22, and May 29. Attendance is free, but space is limited so pre-registration is required. Families should bring a beach towel or yoga mat to practice on. To register visit: https://www.capeannmuseum.org/events/free-family-yoga/   

For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (April 2021) – To engage and involve more children and families at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester-born artist Michael Grimaldi has created a family-friendly guide, Cassie the Sea Serpent, for a series of programs, a virtual lecture, and events this spring. Grimaldi, a local muralist, graphic designer, and Monserrat College of Art graduate who now lives in Beverly, will be live painting Cassie throughout the galleries in the coming weeks so that visitors can see him at work.

Inspired by the legendary story of the Cape Ann Sea Serpent, a creature that was seen in Gloucester Harbor between 1817-1819 by hundreds of residents, Cassie will be the centerpiece of activities, a socially-distanced scavenger hunt through the Museum, and a series of programs over April School Vacation Week (April 22-25). Families with children under 18 are invited to visit the Museum for free during the school vacation week.

“The importance of this initiative is that we are introducing a new youth narrative throughout our galleries – an interactive and engaging new voice to engage younger audiences in the important stories behind the art and industries that so define the seminal role that Cape Ann has played in both American art and history,” said Museum Director Oliver Barker.

In 2019, a nine-foot bronze sculpture of the Gloucester Sea Serpent was installed at the Museum’s front entrance. It was designed by Essex artist Chris Williams who has created a scaled-down version of his serpent for families to take home during the vacation week.

Beginning Friday, April 16, visitors can watch Grimaldi as he paints Cassie in the Maritime and Fisheries Gallery from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Museum Members are invited for a special after-hours event that day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. while Grimaldi paints Cassie in the Central Gallery, and light refreshments will be served.

Here are more details about the Cassie the Sea Serpent programs and events:

Live Painting in the Gallery

Friday, April 16 from 1:00-3:00 pm

Free with museum entrance: timed entrance required

CAM After Hours: Live Painting

Friday, April 16 from 6:00-8:00 pm

Members event, reservations required

Virtual Lecture: Bringing Cassie the Sea Serpent to Life

Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 pm

Explore the Cape Ann Museum through the eyes of our new family-friendly gallery guide, Cassie the Cape Ann Sea Serpent. Cassie, inspired by the legendary story of the sea serpent that visited Gloucester Harbor from 1817-1819, will be painted at child height throughout the museum by local artist Mike Grimaldi of Grimdrops. Visitors of all ages will be able to follow in Cassie’s wake to discover and engage with the Museum’s collections.

Grimaldi, a graduate of Montserrat College of Art, is a muralist and graphic artist with pieces all over Beverly and Salem. Although a Gloucester native, these paintings of Cassie the Sea Serpent will be Grimaldi’s first works on display in his hometown. See Cassie for yourself during this virtual gallery tour of the Cape Ann Museum with Grimaldi and CAM’s Education Manager, Miranda Aisling. During the tour, learn more about CAM’s new efforts to bring accessible family friendly activities directly into the galleries.

Free for members, $10 for non-members

Pre-registration required, event is on Zoom.

April Vacation Week

Thursday, April 22 – Sunday, April 25

Free Museum entrance to all families with children under 18

Take a break from the screen and come visit the Cape Ann Museum with your kids during April Vacation Week! Reserve timed entrance for you and your family to follow the Museum’s new family-friendly guide, Cassie the Sea Serpent, through the galleries. Inspired by the Cape Ann Sea Serpent, which was seen by hundreds in Gloucester Harbor between 1817-1819, Cassie poses questions and activities for students of all ages to engage with the collection. During April Vacation Week, all visitors will receive a free copy of Cassie’s Scavenger Hunt with activities and crayons included.

For more information about the Museum, its programs, exhibits, and collections, visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.

MEDIA CONTACTS:            

Ashley Elias
Teak Media
(213) 400-3402
Ashley@teakmedia.com

Rebecca Robison

rebeccarobison@capeannmuseum.org

(978) 283-0455 x 124

Virtual Dedication Ceremony: March 10 at 6 p.m.

Rendition of COVID-19 Memorial at Cape Ann Museum (CAM) Green by artist Pamela Hersch.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (March 2021) – Nearly one year ago, the coronavirus pandemic forced the state to shut down and declare a state of emergency. To commemorate the community’s profound loss, the Cape Ann Museum is creating a temporary art installation to pay tribute to those who died from the deadly virus including at least 41 people in Gloucester, 61 people from Cape Ann, and more than 2,000 people from Essex County. The COVID-19 Memorial will be dedicated at CAM Green during a virtual online ceremony on March 10 and will be open to the public through March 14.

In partnership with the City of Gloucester and LuminArtz, the Cape Ann Museum COVID-19 Memorial is comprised of three parts: a video art installation from LuminArtz, the Cape Ann Cairns Memorial, and the Gloucester Memorial Quilt. These interconnected projects seek to humanize the unfathomably large number of deaths in the past year, place the deeply felt local losses in the broader national conversation, and provide a space for visitors to take steps toward the long process of grief and healing. Understanding that the pandemic is ongoing, this memorial takes place outside at CAM Green and is a temporary installation.

“Observing social distance practices to keep each other safe has left many of us wondering how we can process and acknowledge the tragic losses experienced locally, regionally, and internationally this past year,” says Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director. “Art and cultural institutions, so devastated by this tragedy, have a central role to play as we reopen in telling these stories and providing ways for all of us to grieve, remember, and heal. It’s our sincere hope that this memorial will help start that long process.”

On Wednesday, March 10, the state’s emergency shutdown anniversary, the Museum will present a live-streamed virtual memorial ceremony at 6 p.m. that can be seen live on Facebook and YouTube. This ceremony will serve as an opening for the Cape Ann Museum COVID-19 Memorial and a vigil for those lost. Due to current gathering restrictions, visitors will not be allowed onsite during the ceremony. Instead, they are encouraged to watch from home and visit the memorial in person afterwards. Visitors can reserve free, timed entrance to see the memorial at CAM Green from Thursday, March 11 through Sunday, March 14 between 12:30 – 8:00 pm.

Among those scheduled to speak at the ceremony are: local political representatives, community members, and artists including Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, State Senator Bruce Tarr, poet Caroline Harvey, musicians Brian King and Nathan Cohen, the Associated Clergy of Cape Ann, and representatives from the Museum.

About the Cape Ann Museum COVID-19 Memorial

The three simultaneous projects that make up the Museum’s COVID-19 Memorial recognize the local, regional, and national realities of the pandemic in unique yet interconnected ways.

The Gloucester Memorial Quilt was coordinated by the Cape Ann Museum and Roseanne Cody, Board Member on the Gloucester Council of Aging, at the request of Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. This quilt memorializes 35 Gloucester citizens who died as part of the COVID-19 Pandemic, some remain anonymous and others are personally identified by request of the families. The names were embroidered by Monograms by Diane of Gloucester, and the squares were quilted together by Ingrid Schillebeeckx-Rice, a member of the Burlington Quilters Guild. There is a long-standing tradition of quilts used to memorialize and comfort, most significantly the AIDs Memorial Quilt which was displayed for the first time in 1987 and continues to this day.

To commemorate the more than 55 Cape Ann residents who died during to the pandemic, Miranda Aisling, the Museum’s Education Manager, will work with volunteers from Cape Ann Tree Company to build 55 cairns out of Cape Ann Granite in front of the White Ellery house. By request, the Museum will put small markers in front of a cairn to designate it for a specific individual who died of COVID-19. Unless personally requested, the cairns will remain anonymous, holding space for all those who have been lost from the region. The Museum encourages visitors to bring tokens of respect, traditionally small stones or flowers, which can be left on the cairns.

The Cape Ann Cairns and the Janet & William Ellery James Center will be illuminated by LuminArtz, a nonprofit that brings art to light collaborating with local artists, businesses, and the community to transform streetscapes into vibrant installations. Pamela Hersch, a Boston-based, multidisciplinary artist originally from Mexico, will create a video art installation that places the local COVID-19 deaths within the regional, state, and national context.

The Cape Ann Museum encourages anyone who would like their loved one to be memorialized in these projects to reach out to Miranda Aisling at by email at education@capeannmuseum.org or by phone at 978-283-0455 x125. Family members and friends are asked to provide the name of the deceased as well as their town so that the Museum can make sure they are included in the memorial. For more information about the Cape Ann Museum Covid-19 Memorial, visit www.capeannmuseum.org/covidmemorial

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Fall 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.  

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.

MEDIA CONTACTS:          

Diana Brown McCloy
Teak Media
(978) 697-9414
Diana@teakmedia.com

Meredith Anderson
meredithanderson@capeannmuseum.org
(978) 283-0455 x115

Monthly lecture series allows attendees to celebrate cultural history of Cape Ann

Friday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m.

Erica Hirshler (left) and Jane Kamensky (right)

GLOUCESTER, MASS. (March 2021) – To honor and celebrate Women’s History Month, the Cape Ann Museum welcomes historian Jane Kamensky from Harvard University and curator Erica Hirshler from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston on Friday, March 19 at 4 p.m., to discuss how—and why—the instrumental American portrait artist John Singleton Copley painted women.

Jane Kamensky, Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University, and Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the Americas, at the Museum of Fine Arts, will discuss a series of paintings that Copley made of women—young and old–in Boston and in London in the mid to late 18th century.

“We are excited for the opportunity to host a conversation about the ways in which women have historically been portrayed in the fine arts,” said Museum Director Oliver Barker. “The lecture is being offered in conjunction with a special installation at the Museum titled Our Souls Are by Nature Equal to Yours: The Legacy of Judith Sargent Murray, which features a famous portrait of Judith Sargent Murray by John Singleton Copley. Murray was an early advocate for women’s rights and an important figure in the history of women in Colonial America. We are grateful to have the portrait on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art.”

WHEN and WHERE: Friday, March 19, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. EST. Register online at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/events/how-copley-painted-women/ or call 978-283-0455 x10 or email to info@capeannmuseum.org. Free for CAM members; $10 for non-members. 

Next scheduled lecture in the series will be on Wednesday, March 31 at 5:30 pm: Proving Her Metal: The Life and Sculpture of Katharine Lane Weems with Rebecca Reynolds, Manship Artists Executive Director, Jonathan Fairbanks, Katharine Lane Weems Curator Emeritus, MFA Boston, and Robert Shure, sculptor and proprietor of Skylight Studios.

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), and the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, operating hours have been reduced to better protect the safety and well-being of visitors, staff and volunteers. The Museum is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timed tickets are required for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.  

For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.

MEDIA CONTACTS:          Ashley Elias
                                                Teak Media
                                                (213) 400-3402
                                                Ashley@teakmedia.com

Meredith Anderson
meredithanderson@capeannmuseum.org
(978) 283-0455 x115