Take a stroll through this 19th century maritime artist’s Gloucester neighborhood. Walking tours are about an hour and a half; participants should be comfortable being on their feet for that amount of time. The tour will be led by a Cape Ann Museum docent and takes place rain or shine. This tour will also be offered on August 30.

$10 members; $20 nonmembers (includes Museum admission). Space is limited; reservations are required. Call (978) 283-0455 x16 or email [email protected] to make reservations or for more information.

 Make a reservation or purchase tickets here.

Fitz Henry Lane was a Cape Ann artist, printmaker and world-renowned American marine painter. With his subtle use of gleaming light, Lane is generally regarded as one of the finest 19th century practitioners of a style known as luminism. The Cape Ann Museum’s unparalleled collection of Fitz Henry Lane includes 40 paintings, a rare watercolor (his first known work, painted in 1830) and 100 drawings, plus lithographic town views (all three that he did of Gloucester).

Fitz Henry Lane pursued an early interest in art. In 1832 he apprenticed himself to the Boston lithographer William S. Pendleton. During his tenure there, Lane produced a variety of work including panoramic views, advertisements, trade cards, signs and sheet music illustrations. After establishing himself as a printmaker and painter in Boston, Fitz Henry Lane returned to Gloucester in 1847 to concentrate on painting. Two years later he purchased a piece of land at the crest of Duncan’s Point with a commanding view of Gloucester harbor. There he designed and built a dramatic seven-gabled, granite house and studio with the help of his brother-in-law. From his studio on the top floor of the house, Lane enjoyed sweeping views of Gloucester and its schooner filled harbor. As one of a select group of American marine painters who grew up by the sea, he was uniquely able to show the bustling life of a port. In his Cape Ann marine paintings, he expertly renders the commerce of the harbor, the precisely correct rigging of the ships and the building profile of the town without sacrificing his distinctive luminous, lyrical vision. Fitz Henry Lane was never a reclusive artist. His studio was often filled with visitors who came to watch him work, and every new painting was cause for excitement. He often traveled with friends and was involved in community activities.

Image credit: Fitz Henry Lane (1804–1865). Gloucester Harbor at Sunrise, c. 1850, oil on canvas. Gift of Lawrence Brooks, 1970. [Acc. #2020]