De Hirsh Margules, Mother Ann Lighthouse, Eastern Point, Gloucester, 1946. Gouache on paper. Gift of Jean M. Horblit, 2002. [Acc. #2002.004.002]
Gloucester Daily Times: Museum’s acquisition of sterling silver set boosts Friends of Seacoast
By Ethan Forman, March 20, 2024
Thanks to Revere Street resident Kathie Groves’ knowledge of antiques and collectibles, Cape Ann Museum has acquired its first pieces by the late Gloucester silversmith Reino Martin in the form of an Art Deco-style sterling silver sugar bowl and creamer set.
The pieces were appraised for $1,200 and recently bought by the museum, with the proceeds going to the Friends of Seacoast, a charity that provides social and recreational activities for residents of Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Gloucester.
Groves, Friends of Seacoast Treasurer Linda Cooney and member Pixie Harrington recently met with museum officials at the Pleasant Street museum for a check-passing presentation.
It was Groves who first approached the museum about acquiring the pieces by Martin (1923-2007), a Gloucester native and son of a Finnish quarryman, according to the museum.
After serving during World War II, Martin, by way of the G.I. Bill, attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he studied silver- and gold-smithing. There he was awarded the Rebecca R. Joslin Traveling Scholarship and Boit Prize.
When he came home, he worked a number of different jobs before focusing on silver- and gold-smithing, which he did out of his home on Revere Street, the museum said.
In the 1950s, Martin was on the Cape Ann Council of Arts and the Guild of Craftsmen. He taught at the deCordova Museum in Lincoln and Montserrat College of Art in Beverly. His work can be found at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Gloucester, and now at the Cape Ann Museum.
Groves had been involved with Friends of Seacoast for a number of years with its Holiday Fair at the nursing home, which serves as one of the group’s major fundraisers. She knows collectibles and antiques having previously managed the Annisquam Exchange on Leonard Street for a number of years.
Three years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Holiday Fair at the nursing home. When she heard about this, Groves called Linette French, the manager of the Annisquam Exchange, with whom she had worked for years.
Groves asked French if the group could use the Exchange for the Friends of Seacoast sale, and French agreed, Groves said. They planned the sale for the weekend before Thanksgiving. It has taken place at the Exchange for the past three years.
Just two days before last year’s sale, Groves said she got a call from a nephew of Martin’s, Richard Martin, who lives across the street from Groves. She said he wanted to donate items for Friends of Seacoast’s sale, as his late mother had been cared for at the nursing home.
Among the items donated was blue velvet bag that had Groves saying to herself when she opened it: “Oh my God!” The bag contained a silver creamer and sugar bowl crafted by Martin.
Groves did not have time to research the pieces before the sale.
After the sale was over, she dropped in on Cape Ann Museum Assistant Curator Leon Doucette, who grew up on Revere Street, and she brought him pictures of the set.
“I said, ‘Everyone I talk with says this belongs in the museum,’ and he kind of said, ‘Yeah, I think it does,’” Groves said.
She later had the pieces appraised so the museum could acquire the set for its collection, with the proceeds going to the Friends of Seacoast.
Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker said Doucette and Chief Curator Martha Oaks presented the items to the museum’s Collections Committee.
“And they were so excited,” Barker said, “because it’s a wonderful example Art Deco, mid-20th century art.”
“We don’t have anything by Reino Martin in our collection,” Oaks said.
Groves said she believed the pieces belonged in the museum because they were by Martin, a local silver and goldsmith who worked locally and sold many pieces here.
“I just thought it was the thing to do.”
