Gloucester outhouses in American paintings – Artists Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis, Mabel Dwight and more (Excerpt 1)

Posted on by Catherine

Per reader request, over the next few days I’ll be reposting mini chapter excerpts — primarily illustrations– from a longer read about the evolution of outhouses and public utilities specific to Gloucester, Massachusetts, Privy to Privy History, on Good Morning Gloucester June 6, 2021.

‘Gloucester Outhouses in American Paintings’ copied below is “Excerpt 1” (stay tuned for some more Cape Ann Museum additions); Excerpt 2 will focus on early 20th century photographs; future excerpts might highlight some of the history mentions such as the bathroom fixtures at the Crane estate; and so on.

Catherine Ryan, Aug. 2021

 

EDWARD HOPPER – gloucester outhouses

Edward Hopper included outhouses in numerous Gloucester vistas. Hopper depicted buildings and worked with watercolor and gouache long before his renowned first sell out show of Gloucester images in the 1920s.

 

Illustrations: Reminder- You can pinch and zoom to enlarge (and select “full size” image if that option shows) 

 

 

Whitney Museum estimates circa 1903

The Whitney Museum of American Art has the largest collection of Edward Hopper art. This small watercolor study the museum dates circa 1900 contains germs of his later work. There is an elusive building, or nestled buildings, front and center. Strong shadows are emphasized. Is the shed attached or not? An entrance, a ticket booth, an outhouse? Is that a circus tent flag squiggle? The pencil line beyond the vertical street light (or railroad signal) might be a train track. Further right, there’s a red dab. Perhaps another structure. The window with yellow has a barn vibe. I did think about the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when Katherine Ross looks down from a hay loft to catch the ‘Paul Newman riding a bike for the Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’ show.

 

early Stuart Davis – Gloucester outhouses

 

Gloucester Outhouses in American Art

Selection of Gloucester scenes with outhouses by various artists: Dennis Miller Bunker; Charles Burchfield; James Jeffrey Grant; Emil Gruppe; Max Kuehne; William Lester Stevens; Paul Bough Travis; and Louise Woodroofe. Stay tuned for more.

 

 

1938 NYC – Masterful Mabel Dwight 

MABEL DWIGHT, 1938

Leave it to Mabel Dwight for a humorous and original take, Backyard, 1938 WPA/FAP lithograph.

Below – New York City images (collection, NYPL) for comparison of the flip view. More photographs featured in Excerpt 2.

 

Music at Minglewood Harborside Thursday – Saturday 5th 6th & 7th

Posted on by Joanne

Wow…talk about a line up! Kicking it off this Thursday we got the super talented Mr. Chris Fritz-Grace from Pier Ave. Friday, Mystery Meat makes their triumphant return to Minglewood. To cap off this all star line up, Saturday, we got the one and only DJ Vito! Get here early and bring your dancing shoes

Chris Fritz – Grice with Jake Pardee Thursday 7:30 – 10:30pm

Friday – Mystery Meat 9pm

Saturday DJ Vito 9pm

25 Rogers Street.Gloucester, MA

https://www.minglewoodharborside.com/

My Buddy Mike Dekoster Picked Up A Blue Lobster That Dave Jewell Caught and Donated To Maritime Gloucester. Also Pics Of Maddie Jewell Then and Now With Blue Lobsters Caught 8 Years Apart

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Dave Brought This One In A Couple Of Days Ago-

Dave Jewell Lands Blue Lobster At Captain Joe and Sons Lobster Co Gloucester MA
Zach Jewell’s Blue Lobster Tattoo Next To the Blue Lobster
Michael Dekoster Picks Up Blue Lobster For Maritime Gloucester’s Aquarium

Dave caught another blue lobster eight years ago on October 11, 2013 here’s that post from way back then-

BLUE LOBSTER LANDED AT CAPTAIN JOE AND SONS

Posted on  by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Dave caught another blue lobster eight years ago on October 11, 2013-

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Maddie Jewell displays the lobster her daddy caught October 11, 2013.

And here’s a picture of Maddie Jewell with the blue lobster her dad caught 8 years later on August 3, 2021-

Try Appleton Farms in Ipswich

Posted on by Pat D

I took a ride to Appleton Farms in Ipswich (I guess the official address is South Hamilton but it’s a short ride) to challenge myself by using only a particular rarely-used lens I have in my camera bag. The weather was OK but not especially pretty. The property, however, is picturesque and busy with activity. There was apparently a camp with young children having an activity in the barnyard; there were several young children there with parents hanging out watching the farm life; there was also regular farm work taking place. It made for some good practice with the lens. AND there’s a store! Our own local Pigeon Cove Ferments has kombucha and sauerkraut available there. It’s a Trustee property well worth a short drive for something a little different.

Gloucester’s Culture Splash!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Experience firsthand, the artistic, creative spirit of Gloucester this summer with Culture Splash! From 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday evenings throughout July and August, Rocky Neck Cultural District and Harbortown Cultural District are co-hosting a myriad collection of art demonstrations, live musical performances, and imaginative exhibitions for all to experience and enjoy.

Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA) is offering free trolley rides from one cultural district to the other, featuring a hop-on, hop-off loop route. As well, Cape Ann Harbor Tours is providing a complimentary water shuttle to get you from one district to the other — You select your “by land or sea” excursion!

DiscoverGloucester.com features a direct link to the Culture Splash landing page and Google Map to assist you in “making a Splash” with us this summer. We invite you to check out the list of participants, shows and activities, and join us!

Culture Splash is brought to you by Rocky Neck Cultural District and Downtown Cultural District, and the support of the state’s grant supporting this multi-week event.

Click on the digital map to navigate your Culture Splash adventure in Gloucester’s Harbortown and Rocky Neck Cultural Districts.

List of Participating Galleries, Museums, Shops, and More

Trolley Service

Click here for the CATA Trolley Schedule.

Hop on and hop off the CATA Trolley at dedicated stops.

Harbor Tour Schedule

Boat shuttle runs every half hour from 4:00 pm until 8 pm.
On the hour from Harbor Loop, 30 minutes after the hour from The Studio.

Culture Splash Happenings

Click HERE to view the list of Culture Splash events.

Magnolia, William Morris Hunt- in 1904 Boston Globe North Shore Famous for its Summer Homes #GloucesterMA

Posted on by Catherine
  • photo: Clarence Manning Falt

According to the Boston Globe article from 1904, Delia Tudor was the first summer resident of the North Shore, who went to Nahant in 1820. It took until 1840 for arrivals in Beverly.

Mostly the article covers Swampscott, Nahant, Manchester and Gloucester tony neighborhood of Magnolia.

Longfellow (his home in Nahant burned by the time of the article) and Hawthorne (Swampscott) were here visiting the North Shore. “To the North Shore also came Lowell and Daniel Webster–despite his fondness for the South shore–Charles Sumner and Rufus Choate. The list, in fact, of masters of the mind who have worked, played and rested along the North Shore is a very long one.”

Excerpt about Magnolia | Gloucester

“Kettle Cove, Magnolia, which took its early name from the formation of the coast, joins Manchester. It is one of the most beautiful spots of the beautiful North shore, and , like many other localities thereabouts, has a witch legend connected with its history. Kettle Cove was settled in 1645, and was under the jurisdiction of Salem. in 1838 there were 14 houses in the cove, and a small schoolhouse, which was used for religious purposes whenever a minister chanced to come that way. it was here that the artist Hunt established his studio, and old barn, calling it the Hulks. In this vine covered studio some of his most famous pictures were painted including, The Headsman, Tom in a Felt Hat, and Gloucester Harbor. Near here is Rafe’s Chasm, where one may find an iron cross marking the place where Martha Marlon a young girl was drowned many years ago…

“The fashionable world has found these shores, and handsome summer homes now rise at every vantage point.”

Boston Globe 1904
PDF 1904 Boston globe summer articleDownload

scenic photos illustrating the article include:

  • “A Part of Manchester Shore, Near Magnolia” also known as Rafe’s Chasm
  • The Oldest House at Kettle Cove, Manchester, built in 1700
  • The Dana House, Magnolia

photos: Coolidge Point, Kettle Cove vista; Rafe’s Chasm by Falt; William Morris Hunt (1824-1879)- paintings mentioned in article and Willow Cottage. A Boston painter who studied with Millet, Hunt held plein air art classes –in Magnolia –in 1876. (old Kettle Cove village became ‘Magnolia’.) He transformed the barn into his studio in 1877.

“The barn was two stories in height, the lower portion being occupied by the van, a phaeton and a dog-cart, as well as by stalls for two or three horses. The upper room was known as the ” barracks,” and half a dozen cot-beds were ranged around the sides, as seats by day and beds by night.”

“The scenery combined much sketching material in a little space. In addition to a small beach there was a rocky shore of much boldness, and the cliffs were surmounted by well-wooded groves. One of its charms was a willow-road of rare picturesqueness, and there was a graceful variety of hill and dale. The fishermen at their work, the simple cottage folk, and a few artists were the only people to be seen. In less than ten years the place became a fashionable resort, and its artistic interest was gone.”

Helen Mary Knowlton, Hunt biography,1899

Willow Road, Magnolia, circa 1910 (Library of Congress)
Brothers (2 of 4): Richard Morris Hunt portrait (artist, renowned architect), and probably portrait of his famous older brother, William Morris Hunt (Library of Congress). Richard helped with the Hulk design.
Pine Woods, Magnolia (MFA, Boston)

IMPORTANT: Time To Get Solar Credits Is Waning

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The pandemic has caused many things to be delayed. Getting the needed permission from the utility companies to hook your system to the grid for a new solar install is among them.

What used to be 60-90 days to install after signing the paperwork, is now 90 to 120 days, sometimes even longer! This means the time is getting late to install in 2021 to receive your valuable year-end tax credits.

It is critical you get moving now!

So, if you wish to take full advantage of the State and Federal Tax Credits for this 2021 fiscal year- Now Is The Time To Have Tim Sanborn from Cazeault Solar and Home Contact You for a free estimate

Fill out this form and Tim will contact you to set up a consultation-

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