New fisheries and archival galleries, a revitalized Education Studio and Auditorium, as well as renovated spaces for 20th- and 21st-century art, will open to the public on June 30, 2026
Cape Ann Museum Downtown Campus. Photo courtesy of Steve Rosenthal.
GLOUCESTER, MA (February 2026) — After nearly 20 months of closure and the extraordinary success of a $23 million fundraising campaign, the Cape Ann Museum will reopen its main Downtown Campus to the public on June 30, 2026, unveiling beautifully redesigned and upgraded galleries for its renowned art, fisheries, and archival collections. The comprehensive renovation includes state-of-the-art temperature and humidity controls, enhanced security, and modern lighting systems—dramatically improving interconnectivity and access between spaces while enhancing the visitor experience throughout the Museum.
The reopening is the capstone of the Museum’s 150th anniversary and coincides with the launch of a major national exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, also opening June 30, 2026.
“This reopening marks an exciting new chapter for the Cape Ann Museum,” said Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director, who led the CAM-150 Campaign well beyond its original $18 million goal. “With overwhelming community support and a deep commitment to our mission, we’ve achieved a major milestone. We are fortunate to steward a world-class institution that celebrates both internationally acclaimed artists and Cape Ann’s rich history. These upgrades to the Downtown Campus allow the Museum to honor that legacy while confidently looking to the future.”
20th & 21st Centuries Gallery within the Cape Ann Museum’s Downtown Campus. Photo courtesy of Steve Rosenthal.
Renovations to the Downtown Campus began in early December 2024 and have been overseen by the Boston-based architectural firm designLAB and managed by Windover Construction. The resulting upgrades and improvements serve more than 40 percent of the main campus and include:
- A new showcase of Cape Ann’s deep history with the sea in a redesigned suite of three Fisheries Galleries that tell the captivating stories of the fishing industry, past and present.
- Improved visitor accessibility with a newly opened rear stairwell, enhancing the visitor experience by encouraging greater circulation and interconnectivity between the Museum’s fisheries, granite, and archival collections, as well as access to the Museum’s Library & Archives Center and Education Studio.
- A refurbished auditorium and a reimagined atrium courtyard that brings the outdoors in while showcasing Cape Ann granite and sculpture.
- Enhanced learning experiences with an updated Education Studio with opportunities for hands-on engagement, multimedia, and interactive displays for all ages.
- A new archival display gallery to showcase the Museum’s deep resource of locally relevant and distinctive archival collections.
- A reimagined 20th & 21st Centuries Gallery space to support this growing collection and area of focus. This incorporates updated lighting and new, adjustable walls to maximize opportunities to place more of the Museum’s significant collections holdings on view for all visitors to explore.
The Museum’s successful fundraising campaign, CAM-150, aligned with the institution’s 150th anniversary of operations in 2025–2026 and was chaired by Museum Board members Henrietta Gates, J.J. Bell, and Caroline Hovey. The effort was launched with a lead gift of $4 million from Janet and William Ellery James of Rockport, along with five additional seven-figure gifts. In addition to funding the Downtown Campus renovations, the campaign supported the creation of the new four-acre Cape Ann Museum Green campus in 2020 and added much-needed funds to the Museum’s endowment. Alongside the generous support of hundreds of households, the CAM-150 Campaign received major support from private foundations, the Massachusetts Cultural Council Facilities Fund, and federal grants through the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Reopening the Cape Ann Museum marks an extraordinary moment in our 150-year history,” said Henrietta Gates, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “This project represents not only a physical transformation of our campus, but the collective belief of our community in the power of art, history, and education. We are profoundly grateful to our donors and partners whose generosity has made this vision a reality.”
With the reopening of the Downtown campus in June 2026, the Museum will simultaneously inaugurate its next major exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, on view June 30 through September 27, 2026. Presented in partnership with The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the exhibition explores the relationship and artistic influence among three great American artists—Milton Avery (1885–1965), Mark Rothko (1903–1970), and Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974)—as they summered together on Cape Ann during the 1920s through the 1940s. Loans are coming to CAM from 26 lending institutions, private collections, and 16 major American museums. Some works, never before seen publicly, are coming from the artists’ estates and family collections.
Lending Museums include: The National Gallery of Art, which is loaning 10 works by Mark Rothko; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art; The Museum of Modern Art; The Phillips Collection; Brooklyn Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; Rhode Island School of Art and Design, The Albert Pilavin Memorial Collection of 20th Century American Art; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ackland Art Museum; Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and Vassar College, Francis Lehman Loeb Center.
“As we prepare to welcome remarkable works from the nation’s most esteemed museums and collections, we are once again ready to host tens of thousands of visitors—just as we did for Edward Hopper & Cape Ann in 2023—now within a beautifully reenvisioned Museum,” Barker said.
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The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the region and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum’s Downtown campus is a major cultural institution on Boston’s North Shore, welcoming thousands of local, national, and international visitors annually to its exhibitions, programs, and community-led events. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the fisheries and granite industries, four historic structures, a Library & Archives, and a sculpture garden in the heart of downtown Gloucester.
The Cape Ann Museum’s Downtown campus is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester and, beginning June 30, 2026, will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. General Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for Cape Ann residents and seniors. Youth (under 18), students with ID, and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents receive free general admission on the second Saturday of each month. During Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, additional fees apply and timed ticketing is required. Tickets go on sale June 1, 2026.
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