Good Morning Gloucester

I’ve been wanting to get to one of Castle Manor Inn’s (on Essex Ave) pop up dinners and early July presented itself as my opportunity. It was a WONDERFUL experience both in atmosphere and in menu quality. The staff are friendly and helpful; it was nice to see them pitching in and helping each other at different tables. They stopped by to check on our needs and just to chat a bit, which we enjoyed.

I had the Haddock Oscar and Jim ordered the pasta and meatballs. We were both very happy with our choices and, for each of us, there were additional options we would have happily gone with too. Additionally, Jim got a garden salad which could have been a meal unto itself. The bread basket contained a warmed variety of yummy breads. We were seated outside under the large tent and were very comfortable, though there are heaters awaiting the need to be fired up. Thank you Chef Dan and staff for a lovely evening! We will be back.

“Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating an American Landscape” in 2023, an exhibition of the critically acclaimed American artist during a turning point in his life and career when he came to Cape Ann from 1923-1928.  

This major exhibition is the first dedicated to Hopper’s formative development on Cape Ann, marking the pivotal summer of 1923 when Edward Hopper and his future wife, Josephine “Jo” Nivison, visited Gloucester. Edward Hopper & Cape Ann opens on Hopper’s birthday, July 22, 2023, runs through October 16, 2023, and is presented in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art, the major repository of the Hoppers’ work.  

“This inaugural partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art as a leading national institution is a first for the Cape Ann Museum,” said Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker. “Edward Hopper & Cape Ann marks the centennial of the summer of 1923 when Edward Hopper created watercolors that earned his first critical acclaim and laid the foundation for future success as one of the greatest 20th century American landscape painters.” 

The exhibition features 66 works including paintings, drawings, and prints brought together from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, National Gallery of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art and 28 other institutions and private lenders to tell the story of Hopper’s formative years when he experimented with his painting technique, met his future wife, and embarked on a legendary career. The exhibition includes 57 works by Edward Hopper, seven by Jo Hopper, and one by their teacher Robert Henri.   

This once-in-a-generation exhibition, and the accompanying 224-page catalogue published by Rizzoli Electa, are curated by nationally recognized curator and former museum director, Elliot Bostwick Davis, PhD. “Despite painting in Gloucester in 1912 and in Maine for six more summers, Hopper initially struggled to find a distinctive artistic voice,” writes Davis. “Hopper understood that Gloucester, familiar from his earlier trip in 1912, was perhaps his last chance to make a name for himself as a painter at the age of 41. By 1923, he was supporting himself as an illustrator and etcher; his only painting sale had occurred over a decade earlier.” 

Edward Hopper (1882-1967) visited Cape Ann initially at the invitation of his friend and fellow painter, Leon Kroll (1884-1974), and produced his first oil painting outdoors in the United States during that trip. The Whitney Museum is lending Hopper’s five oils painted in Gloucester in 1912, including Briar (sic) Neck, Gloucester (1912); Tall Masts (1912); Italian Quarter (1912); and Gloucester Harbor (1912). The exhibition will mark the first time these works have ever been shown together on Cape Ann. 

Hopper was seemingly drawn to Cape Ann for its ease by train from New York City and by the legendary light that captivated other artists – such as Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865), William Morris Hunt (1824-1879), Winslow Homer (1836-1910), John Sloan (1871-1951), Theresa Bernstein (1890-2002), William Meyerowitz (1887-1981), and Stuart Davis (1894-1964) among others. On Cape Ann, Hopper decided to paint various maritime scenes and portrayals of sunlight on houses.  

In 1923, Josephine “Jo” Verstille Nivison (1883-1968) was an established artist, as well as an amateur actress and dancer, whose paintings had been accepted by the Brooklyn Museum, exhibited at prestigious Manhattan art galleries, and were included in a forthcoming exhibition in London and Paris. Although Hopper and Nivison knew each other from painting experiences and studies with artist and teacher Robert Henri, they met again in Gloucester and began painting together during early morning excursions where Nivison urged Hopper to paint with easy-to-transport watercolors instead of equipment-laden oils. Nivison’s beloved cat, Arthur, who traveled with her to Gloucester that summer, brought them together, when Hopper found him wandering Gloucester’s back streets and returned him. 

Hopper took Nivison’s advice during their joint painting excursions. The result was Eastern Point Light (1923) followed by 17 more watercolors over eight weeks that summer including Deck of a Beam Trawler, 1923; Portuguese Church, Gloucester, 1923; House in Italian Quarter (1923); and The Mansard Roof (1923). 

After Nivison and Hopper returned to New York in the fall of 1923, she lobbied for Hopper’s work to be included alongside her own in the second major biennial devoted to American watercolors at the Brooklyn Museum. The curators selected six of Hopper’s Gloucester watercolors and the Museum eventually purchased The Mansard Roof (1923) for $100. This first sale of a painting by Edward Hopper in over a decade was a major turning point in his career, thanks to Nivison and the influence of their time together on Cape Ann.  

Edward Hopper, House in Italian Quarter, 1923. Watercolor. Smithsonian American Art Museum. ©2023 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY 

By 1924, Hopper hoped Nivison would return to Gloucester with him for another summer of painting. She wanted to return to Provincetown where she enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow artists and theatrical types. In the end, she agreed on one condition: that they marry that day, July 9, 1924. The wedding took place and the couple returned to Cape Ann for their honeymoon and another summer of painting together. They remained married for 43 years. 

“Hopper gives us an extraordinary opportunity to tell Gloucester’s story as a significant and influential place for artistic inspiration and growth,” Barker said. “The exhibition in exploring this concept of place as a creative catalyst, thanks to Elliot Davis, also recasts Jo Nivison’s role of model and muse to the producer of Hopper’s distinctive style, from the time of their courtship on Cape Ann in 1923 to the last painting to leave his easel in 1965. It’s a remarkable story that we cannot wait to share.” 

Cape Ann Museum’s exhibition follows the Whitney Museum’s Edward Hopper’s New York, which opened Oct. 19, 2022 and ran through March 5, 2023, featuring Hopper’s paintings around the city he called home for 60 years (1908-1967). 

Another major aspect of the Cape Ann Museum exhibition is the accompanying 224-page catalog, published by Rizzoli Electa in hard and softcover editions. This publication, which shares the exhibit’s title, Edward Hopper & Cape Ann, tells the largely ignored but significant origin story of Edward Hopper’s years in and around Gloucester, Massachusetts – a period and place that imbued Hopper’s paintings with a clarity and purpose that had eluded his earlier work.  The book description reads: “the success of Hopper’s Gloucester watercolors transformed his work in all media and set the stage for his monumental career.” 

This important partnership with Rizzoli Electa marks the first time that the Cape Ann Museum has sought an outside book publisher to design, produce, and distribute an exhibition catalog. “We could not be more thrilled with this significant collaboration and the beautiful edition Rizzoli has created,” Barker said. The book will be distributed nationally and internationally and is available at the Cape Ann Museum Store which is also the exclusive vendor of the soft cover edition. 

Edward Hopper & Cape Ann will be on view at the Museum’s Downtown Campus in Gloucester and is accompanied by a robust six-part lecture series as well as a day-long symposium to be held on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Full lecture details and symposium speakers were announced in March 2023. 

In preparation for Edward Hopper & Cape Ann the Museum during the 2022-2023 school year has been working with every eighth grader on Cape Ann to create original student work returning Hopper’s gaze through their own windows. A View from My Window (which had been on view April 1 – May 14, 2023) incorporated panes of plexiglass from each student, creating a visual array of sites around Cape Ann as seen by the students who live there. The Museum is also offering two walking tours of Hopper’s Houses around Gloucester, featuring sites that Hopper painted while here. 

Timed- entry tickets will be required and go on sale at www.capeannmuseum.org on June 1, 2023. Admission, which includes both Edward Hopper & Cape Ann and general Museum entry is: Adults $23; Cape Ann Residents, Seniors, and Students: $18; Youth under 18: Free.    

Edward Hopper & Cape Ann is made possible with thanks to a visionary anonymous gift and with additional leadership support provided by: Jackie and J. J. Bell, John and Mollie Byrnes, Catherine and Peter Creighton, Henrietta Gates and Heaton Robertson, Ann Rogers Haley and John F. Haley Jr., Ann T. and John Hall, Janet and William Ellery James, Stephen Kaloyanides, Littlejohn Family Foundation, Susie and Stanley Trotman, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, among others. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. In cooperation with the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the major repository of Hopper’s work. 

Cape Ann Trail Stewards,  which protects and improves access to open space and trails across Cape Ann, is the recipient of a $10,000 donation from 100 Who Care Cape Ann. The funds will be used to expand their work in Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester and Essex.  

Cape Ann Trail Stewards  helps to maintain existing trails, improve access, and support the responsible and safe use of the Cape Ann Trail network and recreational areas. The volunteer Board of Directors and on-the-ground trail stewards are supported by a part time, paid Operations Director. 

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“Our primary focus is on helping municipal landowners and conservation organizations protect, maintain and expand Cape Ann’s trail network, while working to provide more equitable trail access to a wider range of the local community. We match volunteer trail stewards to trails in need of stewardship, and organize public trail work days throughout the year.  We also provide information, maps, and trail blazes for people to be able to safely navigate the trail system, and we offer free guided hikes year-round for those who may not be comfortable venturing out on their own, or who prefer to hike with a group,” says Amy Blondin, Operations Director.  ”We rely on volunteer support and donations from our members and others who want to help maintain and improve the amazing network of trails we have on Cape Ann.”

100 Who Care Cape Ann (www.100whocarecapeann.org) is a giving circle of 100+ local women who each contribute $100, meet quarterly to learn about local organizations that support the Cape Ann community, and vote on the charity that will receive their collective $10,000+ donation. Cape Ann Trail Stewards is the fifteenth recipient of funds. Since the organization was started four years ago, almost $200,000 has been donated to the Cape Ann community. Other organizations supported include Wellspring Education Resource Collaborative, Backyard Growers, Gloucester Education Fund, Gloucester Emergency Relief Fund (via Action, Inc.), The Grace Center, Cape Ann Kids Holiday Fund, Generous Gardeners, The Cornerstone Creative, Together Gloucester, Cape Ann Art Haven, Maritime Gloucester, The Sunrise Fund, and Cape Ann Animal Aid.

Red Hot…

Bill Wrinn submits:

Less than three weeks until the historic production of “Gloucester Story,” a musical based on the Russel Crouse Award-winning play by Clayton B. Stockbridge, will be performed alongside the schooners on the docks of Maritime Gloucester Aug. 10-13.

Now is the time to get your tickets!

Part of the greater Gloucester 400+ birthday celebration, “Gloucester Story” brings you back to 1905 when the schooners still ruled the fishing fleets and it was a strong reality that you might not return. It reflects the fishermen, businessmen, and their families of that era and the personal struggles they endured around the Harbor. It also has the element of romance and tragedy.

Originally written as a play, the Annisquam Village Players will transform the work into a musical for the first time. Musical pieces from local musicians, Corey Wrinn, Daisy Nell, and Peter Souza have been incorporated into the show along with some other familiar salty tunes.

Free tickets are available on the AVP website at www.AnnisquamVillagePlayers.com/tickets-to-gloucester-story. And when acquiring your tickets, please be sure to remember the major sponsors in the Gloucester community who are making this happen:

Andrée Robert of Engel & Völkers, Cape Ann Savings Bank, Seashore Comfort Solutions, the Gloucester 400+ Committee, and Maritime Gloucester.

A little history about the show…

In the summer of 1952, as the Cape Ann Festival of Literature and Drama was launching its inaugural event, Broadway playwright/librettist and Annisquam summer resident Russel Crouse agreed to sponsor a new challenge:  A contest for “the best play about Gloucester by a resident of Gloucester.”

A year later, “Gloucester Story,” a two-act play written by Clayton B. Stockbridge (1895-1973), a plumber, emerged as the winner of the first Russel Crouse Award. (In 1954, the second and final Russel Crouse Award was given to Brown University professor and Annisquam summer resident S. Foster Damon for his play, “Witches of Dogtown.”)

The play was performed in Gloucester several times that summer and in subsequent years. For a short period of time, it became a popular pick for summer stock theatres. Various tweaks of the script occurred through the years.

The story line, set in 1905, revolves around a 21-year-old son and his interactions with his family, his girlfriend, his fellow sailors, and the sea. It is entirely fictional but the names, businesses, and plot motivations dealing with the folklore are all factual.

It is a dramatic story of the fishing vessel Artemesia, which was lost at sea, and the conflict between the desire of a life at sea and the business of fishing.  It involves a schooner vessel and a business owner’s son who wishes to crew on the vessel in order to have the life experience at sea and not be confined to a business life on shore.  The son has resistance from his parents and fiancé in his quest to go to sea, and as a result becomes a part of the tragedy which strikes.   

Clayton drew this story from his youth working on the docks of Gloucester Harbor during the age of the dory fisherman, incorporating popular Captains, local businesses, and the superstitions of the time. During that period, as other maritime cities of Massachusetts were devoting their resources to the Clipper ship trade or whaling, Gloucester chose fishing as its major contribution to the American economy.

As the industry grew, there were three outstanding developments that Clayton took into account when creating “Gloucester Story.”

One of these was the Schooner

The need for speed, maneuverability and seaworthiness, made it mandatory to improve upon the slow, clumsy pinnaces and shallops used in the early years of fishing. From the time the first schooner slid down the ways of the shipyard at Eastern Point in 1713, its place was assured among fast sailing vessels. The highest accolade that could be conferred on a schooner was to be called “fast” and “able.”

Another was the Dory

In 1793 Simeon Lowell of Amesbury had designed and built what he called a dory and, at the time, proved to be the most seaworthy small boat ever devised. Although only sixteen feet overall with a fourteen-foot flat bottom, it could hold close to two tons of fish – in addition to its two-man crew – without swamping. And they could be nested on a vessel’s deck so that several took no more space than one. It answered all of the requirements of the Gloucester trawlers and, after word got out, it was adopted by all of the world’s deep sea fishing fleets.

Up to the time of the invention of this type of rowboat, bank fishing had been done by hand from the vessel’s deck, but now the dory made it necessary for the crew to leave the vessel in small rowboats to set and haul in the fish.

Most of all the people

The last and most important of this trio is the people who made the others possible.

Youth from foreign countries back then, especially Canada, were attracted to Gloucester by the magnetism of the sea. The Gloucester fishermen became a breed apart. The navigational feats of the captains by dead reckoning were recognized throughout the Seven Seas. The fortitude, stamina and determination of the fishermen will never be excelled.

Some of their deeds are legendary. Without modern equipment such as sonar, radar and radio, the blinding fogs, sudden squalls and the unpredicted gales of the North Atlantic made bank fishing a most hazardous calling. During one five-year period, one hundred men were lost from just dories alone.

These men were extremely superstitious. Misfortune followed the breaking of taboos so often, that the superstitions were implicitly believed and taken for granted. The validity of the dream as an omen of disaster was one of their strongest convictions.

Through the scenes, Clayton strives to show a small picture of this era — forever gone— that typifies the heritage of the sea which is so uniquely Gloucester’s, and how some of these people lived and how some of them died.

Performances start at 7 p.m. Enjoy the show!

Looking forward to having these 3 sport athletes competing for another year as Fishermen

Some of our hardworking fishing vessels returning to the harbor on a recent afternoon. They include Amanda & Andy III, Jen & Christi, Dunlin, Meredith Jean, Nicole Jean and My Grace. Thanks to Susan and Leo for the prime viewing spot!

www.facebook.com/boatparadeoflights

Click their profile HERE to sign up for the great program. With Jeremiah Nicastro Joseph Parady Peter Sutera. Great guys doing excellent community work.

Link to check out the shop here- https://gloucesterapparel.square.site/