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| Museum entrance, built as part of the 1930s addition |
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Central stairway, 1993
Graham Gund Architects addition |
The Cape Ann Historical Association, which operates the Museum, was
founded in 1873 as the Cape Ann Scientific and Literary Association, but
its antecedents reach back to the early days of the 19th century, when all
of New England was being swept with the spirit of cultural revival. In
1830, the Gloucester Lyceum was organized to give subscribers a chance to
hear such distinguished speakers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David
Thoreau, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Mann.
After some adjustments to its name and purpose, the Association
acquired its first permanent headquarters in the early 1920s. The Captain
Elias Davis house (1804) is located in downtown Gloucester and remains
part of the present day Museum. During this same period, the Association
acquired the collections of the Gloucester Historical Society and began
assembling its own collections in fine art,
decorative arts,
fisheries and maritime history,
books, photographs and other historical artifacts.
By the 1930s, it was necessary to build galleries adjoining the Davis
house to accommodate the growing collections. The new space also included
an auditorium which enabled the Association to provide a continuing
cultural program for the community.
The history of the Association was affected profoundly when Alfred
Mansfield Brooks, a Harvard-trained professor of art history, became its
president in 1940. His roots were in Gloucester, so after retiring from
academia he returned to spend nearly 30 years building the Association’s
collections. He believed that Gloucester native Fitz Henry (Hugh) Lane (1804-1865)
would eventually hold a preeminent place among 19th century American
artists. Brooks began assembling what is now the largest and finest
collection of Lane paintings in the country.
In the 1960s, the growth of the collections prompted yet another
expansion, a two-story wing with more galleries and storage space. An
entire gallery was devoted to the area’s fishing and maritime heritage.
The Association began its most extensive expansion program in the late
1980s when it bought an adjacent building. Graham Gund Architects
developed a plan with atrium galleries on three levels to link the
buildings and with new or renovated galleries in the two buildings.
Throughout the 1990s, the Association continued to construct space, more
than doubling the size of the Museum and making the entire complex
accessible to the handicapped.
The most recent construction provided the Museum with a 1,600 square
foot gallery which features changing exhibitions of 20th century Cape Ann
paintings and sculpture. The space is dramatic, with a ceiling that rises
to 24 feet at its center. A sculpture garden at the
Museum’s entrance, displays the work of sculptors Albert Henry Atkins,
Walker Hancock, and George Demetrios.
The purpose of the Museum, as defined in its mission statement, is to:
"foster an appreciation of the quality and diversity of life on Cape
Ann, past and present. The Museum seeks to further the knowledge and
enjoyment of Cape Ann history and art; to collect and preserve
significant information and artifacts; and to encourage community
involvement with its programs and holdings. In all its activities, the
Association emphasizes the highest standards of excellence. "
In 2007, the Museum's Board voted to adopt the name Cape Ann Museum, with
the accompanying tagline-art/history/culture. The new name more
accurately describes the focused, but expansive nature of the Museum's
mission, collections and activities, and strengthens the Museum's
commitment to the people of Cape Ann and to preserving and presenting the
rich traditions of its art, history and culture.
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