Join us online for Cape Ann Museum’s Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea Symposium spanning two days.

The in-person program is now oversubscribed due to tremendous community interest. To accommodate additional guests, we are pleased to offer a livestream option. This event is online only and does not provide an in-person ticket. 

Livestream Ticketing Options
CAM Members $20, Non-Members $30
Registration Required

After registering, you will receive an email with a livestream link for each day of the symposium, along with viewing information and tips.

Thursday, September 17, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, September 18, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Livestream tickets include access to both days. Tickets for individual days are not available.

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Opening Day
Thursday, September 17, 2026
5:30 p.m.

Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea – Keynote Lecture
Crosscurrents, Riptides, and Eddies: Thinking about Influence at the Seashore
by Harry Cooper

Over the course of several summers spent together in Gloucester and environs, Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb emerged from the shadow of their great friend and mentor, Milton Avery, to come into their own. This lecture explores the exhibition through the lens of influence, considering exchanges not only between our three protagonists but also with other figures haunting the beach, from Sophocles and T. S. Eliot to Matisse and more.

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Full Day
Friday, September 18, 2026
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
There will be breaks between programs, including a one-hour lunch break.

Morning Program
Atmospheric Geography and Abstraction at Sea
by James Lawrence

The process of detaching abstract forms from their origins in the physical world is seldom as straightforward as commentary and theory might lead us to believe. Adolph Gottlieb’s mature style embodies several tactics that gained traction during the 1930s, some of which exploited the distinctive traits of coastal and maritime phenomena. This examination of his technique considers what happens to abstraction when it leaves dry land, how Gottlieb harnessed its currents, and how we might assess the results within the development of western painting.

Milton Avery: A Life of Experimentation
by Edith Devaney

This lecture brings together and examines Avery’s autodidactic nature, interrogating how this, along with his lifelong experimentation in composition, form, and technique ensured that he not only sustained the position of being a painter of great interest during his career and to this day, but that it was these very qualities which proved to be so compelling to artists who have followed in his wake.

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Afternoon Program
Mark Rothko — From Cape Ann to Provincetown: The Arc of a Career
by Dr. Christopher Rothko & Dr. Kate Rothko Prizel

An examination of Rothko’s development and output, looking at the importance of place, colleagues, and subject throughout his career. For an artist who reluctantly left the studio, we will find great works inspired by travel, companionship, and time away.

Panel discussion
with Eliza Rathbone, Oliver Barker, Dr. Kate Rothko Prizel, Dr. Christopher Rothko, Sanford Hirsch, and Sean Cavanaugh

Click to read Symposium Speaker Biographies.

Image Credit: Milton Avery, Harbor at Night, 1932. Oil on canvas. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. Acquired 1942, 0038. © 2026 The Milton Avery Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.