Cape Ann Museum

The Cape Ann museum is right in the center of the old city of Gloucester — and it is wonderful. You can spend an hour or so looking at paintings by Fitz Hugh Lane, at cool old nautical memorabilia, at fascinating statues, and at decorative arts including a fine portrait by Gilbert Stuart. It’s a larger museum than you might guess from the entrance — the gift shop is small — but nice — and has a good collection of books. The welcome staff are great — get a floor plan, though — this is a museum on several levels. No café here — but downtown Gloucester has a lot of coffee places that are first rate. Bookstores, too. This is a nice day trip from Boston. On the MBTA commuter rail it’s an hour from the city — and a five minute walk from Gloucester Train Station to this superlative museum.

The Cape Ann Museum is one of the gems of Gloucester. Albeit small, the collection is full of personality, boasting the largest collection of art by Fitz Henry Lane, the première collection of relics from the Folly Cove Designers (remember that book «The Little House» by Virginia Lee Burton? Yeah, she made textiles too.), as well as a wide smattering of works by other maritime artists such as Milton Avery, John Sloan, and Marsden Hartley.
They showcase one special exhibit at a time, in addition to their permanent collection. This was most recently a stunning array of quilts by the beloved Clara Wainwright, who not only creates the quilts herself, but encourages others to add to her work in lively gatherings (think of a modern-​day quilting bee).
Altogether the Museum can be delineated into 7 parts: fine arts, fisheries & maritime art/​artifacts (including the original Lady of Good Voyage!), decorative arts, a gallery devoted specifically to granite quarrying, an education room, a library and extensive archive (with over 20,000 photographs – can you imagine?!), and a sculpture garden/​courtyard. While it may sound slightly overwhelming, the Museum does a fantastic job of bringing this varied collection together through it’s connection to both Gloucester and Cape Ann as a whole.
And all for only $ 8! I will definitely be back.