That Joan Kerry was born in London, July 27, 1929 and died October 5, 1996 on Rocky Neck in Gloucester? She grew up in the Seattle area, attended Washington State University, and graduated from the Museum School at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1958. Kerry also studied in Tuscany and Sicily.
She lived on Rocky with her companion and artist colleague, Giovanni Aceto in this house. Kerry was an expert in the ancient medium of egg tempera, and developed innovative techniques for oil pastels, which were described by Gloucester artist Charles Movalli in a July, 1984 article in American Artist.
On Rocky Neck her garden delighted passers-by, who would stop and chat, and inspired many artists to paint its lilies, pink poppies and wisteria vines.
Kerry was very active in the arts organizations of the Cape Ann area. She was a member of the Rockport Art Association from 1977-1996, and was also active in the Rocky Neck Art Colony and a director of the North Shore Arts Association. In 1971 she was the manager of the Rocky Neck Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
In addition to local awards, she had received awards from the Oil Pastel Association at Nyack-on-Hudson, N.Y., the Pen and Brush Club of New York City, and Arena 77 of Binghamton, New York. The Christian Science Monitor had described the “brilliance, color, and imagination” of her work, and Long Island reviewer Malcolm Preston wrote of her paintings displaying a “dreamlike fantasy with intricate, sinewy rhythms.”
Kerry died in Gloucester on October 5, 1996 at age 67. This is one of her paintings.
E.J. Lefavour
www.khanstudiointernational.com
Good Morning Gloucester 
Thanks for the history, I took many images of this house while I was on the neck…
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It looks from the cove like the house is collapsing. Do you know whether the land and house are owned by Kerry descendants? What are the plans for it?
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JOAN KERRY’S STUDIO HOME GALLERY WAS PURCHASED AFTER HER DEATH LATER FOR THE LAND AND TORN DOWN. A BEAUTIFUL HOME NOW IS ON THE SPOT WITH A SIGN OVER THE DOOR AS WITH JOAN’S HOUSE THAT SAYS: “ROCKY NECK”. MAY JOAN REST IN PEACE,
David
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I have an early painting that Joan Kerry painted that I am getting ready to sell to the public. If anyone is interested who is reading this effective August 15, 2016 contact me at beauport01930@msn.com. I have a photograph of it, yet I see no way to download it. It’s a lovely breeze pushing a sheer curtain through the window of what appears to be a dining table with flowers atop of it. There is no date on the painting; the frame is old, dark wood and plain.
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I knew Joan when she first entered the Boston Museum School. She had a wild appearance and was in psychotherapy with Cecil Mushatt, a Boston psychoanalyst. She astonished her fellow students by her paintings of huge imaginary faces. She was deemed to be a seriously disturbed individual and was ignored as a strange young woman. As years went by her imaginary landscapes attracted attention and she was regarded as an important artist. I visited Joan in her Cambridge home. It was a clutter of large canvases of landscapes. Joan also did etchings. I have two very small ones.
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