Cape Ann Museum’s Summer Walking Tours

Cape Ann’s storied light, natural beauty and maritime history have served as inspirations for many of America’s most renowned artists from Fitz Henry Lane to Edward Hopper, John Sloan, Walker Hancock, Milton Avery, and others. The region’s historical and cultural aesthetic has drawn artists, writers, historians, and visitors of all kinds. Each summer, the Cape Ann Museum offers outdoor walking tours of notable sites, featured in some of the world’s most beloved works of art, that bring awareness to the rich history of the region. You are invited to join a walking tour this summer for an intimate approach to learning more about Cape Ann’s art, architecture, maritime history, and culture, getting up close to the places as they are today and how they have been portrayed by artists over the years. These hour and a half tours take place on most Friday and Saturday mornings, beginning at 10 a.m. Please call in advance to make a reservation: 978-283-0455 x10. Here are the offerings: Hopper’s Houses Walking Tour: June 2, June 22, July 27, Aug. 4, Aug. 24, and Sept. 15 Fitz Henry Lane’s Gloucester Walking Tour: June 16, July 13, and Aug. 18 Art for All: Sculpture in the Public Sphere Walking Tour: June 23, July 14, Aug. 3, and Sept. 8 Patriots & Patrons Walking Tour: July 6 and Aug. 10 The Evolution of Spiritual Communities Walking Tour: July 21 and Aug. 17

Hopper’s Houses Walking Tour

Explore the area surrounding the Museum on this walk past select Gloucester houses made famous by American realist painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967). Hopper is known to have painted in Gloucester on five separate occasions in the first decades of the 20th century. His paintings from this period capture the local landscape and architecture in a loosely rendered, light filled style and are considered by many to be some of his finest works.

Fitz Henry Lane’s Gloucester Walking Tour

Gloucester Defined. Artist Fitz Henry Lane captured the industrial, intellectual, and cultural boom happening in Gloucester in the 19th century. Explore the evidence of this pivotal period on a walk through the city. Learn how Lane rose from modest beginnings in the pre-Civil War era to worldwide recognition as a marine painter and why, even today, numerous artists journey to Cape Ann to capture its unusual light.

Art for All: Sculpture in the Public Sphere Walking Tour

The City of Gloucester is awash in outdoor sculpture and public art commemorating those who went to sea, those who fought in wars and those who changed the artistic landscape of Cape Ann forever. Learn the stories behind these works, including how they came to be and the unique processes of the artists who created them, on this wide-ranging tour through the City.

Patriots and Patrons Walking Tour

Take a tour through the heart of Gloucester’s Historic District and vicariously meet some of Cape Ann’s most influential residents. Hear stories of war heroes and sea captains, merchants and religious visionaries, artists, community leaders and even a few quirky characters, and find out how their contributions changed Cape Ann both publicly and behind the scenes.

The Evolution of Spiritual Communities Walking Tour

Learn about the histories and complex relationships among the spiritual communities that evolved in Gloucester over its 400-year history on this tour to eight places of worship (or their former locations). From the time of the earliest English settlers, the church was the center of community life, yet for nearly two hundred years there was only one denomination to choose from: Congregational. In a very short period of time, as immigration patterns shifted in the 19th century, choices blossomed as people of many different religious preferences—among them Universalists, Unitarians, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics and Jews—established themselves on Cape Ann.

The Magazine