The Cape Ann Museum will open a special exhibition of work from the Robert L. and Elizabeth French collection on Saturday, May 15. “Summer Outward Bound: The Robert L. and Elizabeth French Collection” showcases a selection of the more than 90 works of art donated to the permanent collection of the museum by the French family from 1986 through 2009.
Robert French wore many hats, among them mayor of Gloucester. He was a longtime trustee of the museum, and he and his wife, Libby, were major benefactors. Among the more than 30 works to be included in the exhibition are two Marsden Hartley paintings of Dogtown, the granite-strewn interior of Cape Ann, John Sloan’s view of Gloucester Harbor, titled “Glare on the Bay,” one oil and three works on paper by Milton Avery, and a drawing by Edward Hopper. The exhibition opens with a public reception on May 15, from 3 to 5 pm, and continues through September 26.
As curator Martha Oaks noted in the exhibition essay, “When Bob and Libby French first arrived on Cape Ann, their interest in American art was already a growing one. Much to his delight, Bob quickly discovered the important role the area had played in the history of the subject along with the outstanding collection of paintings already in the holdings of the Cape Ann Museum. By the early 1970s, the Frenches had begun acquiring works by Cape Ann artists. In the spring of 1972, they purchased Marsden Hartley’s 1931 ‘Summer Outward Bound, Gloucester,’ an oil on board done during Hartley’s first extended stay in the area.
“Later that same year, they acquired a second oil by Hartley, ‘Rock Doxology’ (1931, oil on board), along with a 1920 drawing in conté crayon by Edward Hopper titled ‘Cemetery in Gloucester’. The following year, they added Frank Duveneck’s circa 1905 ‘Horizon at Gloucester’ to their collection. All four of these important works are now part of the Cape Ann Museum’s collection.
“The Frenches’ taste in art was not limited to established artists, such as Hartley and Hopper, but rather expanded to encompass works by living artists they met and befriended on Cape Ann. Foremost among the contemporary artists they were drawn to was Bernard Chaet, a longtime professor of painting and drawing at Yale, one of this country’s most respected artists and a summer resident of Rockport. The Frenches purchased their first work by Chaet in 1982, a pencil and watercolor entitled ‘Halibut Point’ that the artist had completed the year before. In coming years they would continue to purchase Chaet’s works as well as those by Ninon Lacey (Chaet’s wife), Barbara Swan, Nell Blaine, Erma Wheeler, Joseph Solman and Reed Kay.”
The Cape Ann Museum is at 27 Pleasant Street. For information, 978-283-0455 or www.capeannmuseum.org .
