Hammond Castle Museum reopens for the 2024 season with a special art exhibition, a continuation of sorts of a show during Gloucester’s 400+ commemorative year.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum opens Friday, April 5, with an exhibition featuring the artwork of Eric Pape (1870-1938), a former Annisquam resident.
“Pape is perhaps most widely known throughout the Cape Ann community for his 1907 design of the Tablet Rock Memorial in Stage Fort Park commemorating the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1623,” according to his bio on the museum website.
Pape’s Tablet Rock Memorial plaque was believed to be the largest tablet ever cast in the United States at the time it was created.
This exhibit marks a homecoming for this extraordinary collection of nearly 60 pieces from Pape’s extensive portfolio, noted Linda Harvey, the museum’s executive director.
Most of these works have not be on public view in more than a century. At the heart of this exhibition is “Gertrude Cawein at Hammond Castle Museum,” a full-length portrait of Cawein painted by Pape in 1907 and on loan from the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky.
The friendship among the Hammonds, Caweins and Pape ran deep.
Furthermore, Madison Cawein, Gertrude’s husband, was a celebrated poet of his time, known as the Keats of Kentucky. He too has a connection to Gloucester.
Madison Cawein wrote an ode to the founding of Gloucester for the 1907 Gloucester Day celebrations, during which time Pape presented his Tablet Rock Memorial plaque.
The art exhibition also features an elaborate pen and ink drawing by Pape, representing an elegy written by the poet Cawein upon the death of Pape’s first wife, Alice Monroe Pape, in 1911.
Pape was close friends with two generations of the famed Hammond family — mining magnate John Hays Hammond and his son, John Hays Hammond Jr., a prolific American inventor who built the oceanfront castle. They collaborated on many civic events of the time.
“The exhibition not only showcases Gertrude’s portrait but also highlights the intricate world of Eric Pape’s artistry, offering a unique glimpse into Pape’s role as a portraitist and including examples of his celebrity portraits created during the Great Depression,” according to a program statement.
Many exhibition pieces are on loan from the private collection of Dr. Gregory Conn, a Pape collector and biographer.
“This exhibit offers a unique insight into Pape’s multifaceted talents. Renowned as a painter and society portraitist, Pape’s brilliance shines through various mediums, including pencil, pen, watercolors, and oils,” according to the program statement.
A selection of artworks from Hammond Castle Museum’s 2023 “Pape at Hammond Castle Museum” exhibit will be on view. The three Pape paintings on permanent display within the museum, including the sole surviving Pape mural, “The Wireless Naval Battle of Gloucester Bay,” will be featured.
The museum shop will have a limited number of copies of Conn’s newest biography, “Eric Pape in the New York Herald Tribune,” which delves into Pape’s work as a society portraitist. The exhibition marks the announcement of the launch of Conn’s new website, ericpape.com, featuring free flip books of all five of his published Pape biographies.
Admission to the special exhibition will include self-guided tours of the museum. Hammond Castle Museum members enjoy free access to the exhibit. During the school vacation week, April 15–19, children age 12 and younger will have free admission to the exhibit with a reservation. Virtual tour access will be offered making this exhibit accessible to all.
The Pape exhibition runs through April 28, at the museum at 80 Hesperus Ave., in Gloucester. Daily guided and self-guided tour tickets are now available. For information, visit hammondcastle.org.
‘The Blue Hour’
Cape Ann Collectors, at 474 Washington St., Gloucester, will celebrate the “blue hour,” referring to the light that occurs between daylight and darkness, in its spring show, “L’Heure Bleue: The Flaring Up of Life and Revelation.” This is a favorite time for many artists to paint because of the changing nature of the light. The show opens Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, from 2 to 6 p.m., and runs through April. The show features 52 Cape Ann master works.
Artist Nell Blaine (1922-1996) is known to have commented that “the moment of dying light is a time of great flaring up of life and revelation.” She often painted on the waterfront in the late afternoon and work past sunset, “into the blue hour.”
Appointments always welcome; call 978-430-0414; or visit capeanncollectors.com, or visit the gallery’s Facebook page.
Young Artists with Promise
“Up and Coming: Young Artists with Promise” is a juried show of works by artists aged 17-30 opening Friday, April 5, at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson St., Gloucester. The public is invited to an opening artists reception Sunday, April 7, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The artworks address contemporary issues and present aesthetic and material innovations, according to an exhibition statement. Media includes printmaking, digital art, collage, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, and more.
Featured artists are Corey Brown, Caddy Cicogna, Charlotte Collins, Bridget Curry, Angelina DeDominicis, Fiona Dolan, Molly Forget, Spencer Kall, Rebecca Killion, Benjamin Laird, Dylan Maher, Abigail Monson, Allie Nicastro, Ella O’Neil, Thomas Rutigliano, Isabel Santos, Krystyn Sherman, Ashlyn Smith, Andrew Steinberg, Erin Survilas, Claudia Valenti and Haley Wolfe.
For information on related programs, visit rnacexhibitions.com. Gallery hours are Friday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. The show runs through May 19.
A benefit one-act comedy
Lanes Coven Theater Company presents “The Proposal,” by Anton Chekhov, from Thursday, April 4, to Sunday, April 7; all shows are at 8 p.m. and held upstairs at Short & Main in Gloucester. The run time is about 35 minutes. These are “fundraiser performances” with all proceeds going toward the 2024 summer season at Windhover Performing Arts Center.
“The Proposal” is a story about neighbors, land and dogs, and features Lily Narbonne, Michael McNamara and Max McNamara, directed by Justin Genna. Seating is limited, so patrons are encouraged to make advanced reservations online at lanescoven.com. Light beverages will be served. One theme of the coming season, including this April play, is the “spirit of levity,” given how hard of a year it has been globally, added Narbonne.
4EverFab at Our Lady
As New England’s premier Beatles cover band, 4EverFab, now in its 12th season, will perform Saturday, April 6, from 7 to 10 p.m., at Our Lady of Good Voyage parish hall, at 142 Prospect St., Gloucester. Tickets are $30, and include a light buffet supper, along with dessert, water, coffee, and soft drinks. A cash bar and raffles will be available. All proceeds will benefit Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish.
For more information, contact Beth Fosberry at jcbf33@yahoo.com, Linda Galvin at lingalv2010@gmail.com, or leave a message at 978-281-4820. All are welcome.
Roomful of Blues in concert
The horn-powered and award-winning Roomful of Blues will perform Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m. at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport.
Blues Music Magazine described the group as “the best little big band in the blues”; and the new album, “In A Roomful Of Blues,” is filled with “blues, zydeco twists, late-night ballads, Latin-tinged funk and a touch of vintage, fifth-gear rock ‘n’ roll.”
Along with Chris Vachon and Rich Lataille, the band includes vocalist Phil Pemberton, baritone and tenor saxophonist Alek Razdan of Rockport, trumpeter Carl “Geerz” Gerhard, bassist John Turner, drummer Mike Coffey and keyboardist Rusty Scott. For details, visit www.firehouse.org.
Schooner festival benefit
A Gloucester Schooner Festival Preview Party & Fundraiser will be held nexy Thursday, April 11, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Gloucester House Restaurant, 63 Rogers St., Gloucester. The evening is in support of the 2024 40th annual Schooner Festival. For details, visit https://www.maritimegloucester.org/upcoming-events.
Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-675-2706 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com at least two weeks in advance.
