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: After 25 years, curator leaving Cape Ann Museum at end of 2026
By Times Staff, December 13, 2025
Cape Ann Museum’s chief curator, Martha Oaks, has announced her plans to retire at the end of 2026.
By the time she retires, Oaks will have worked more than 25 years at the museum, shaping its collections and exhibitions.
The announcement comes a year after a “transformative gift” from Henrietta Gates and Heaton Robertson endowed the chief curator position within the institution. The position had been created in 2020 in honor of Oaks’ commitment to stewarding the art and history of Cape Ann.
Prior to 2020, Oaks served as curator from 1981 to 1990 and again from 2007 to 2019, after which she became chief curator.
“Martha’s superlative engagement at the museum, and her commitment to excellence and scholarship, have been paramount to the museum’s development as one of the best regional museum’s in this country,” Cape Ann Museum Director Oliver Barker said.
Over the decades, Oaks organized numerous exhibitions exploring the history of Cape Ann and artists who lived and worked in the area. These artists included sculptors Walker Hancock and George Demetrios, and painters Marsden Hartley, Frank Duveneck, John Sloan, Milton Avery, Umberto Romano and Margaret Fitzhugh Browne. Other exhibitions she curated explored themes, such as the history of the Rocky Neck and Rockport art colonies in the mid-20th century, women artists of Cape Ann, the Folly Cove Designers, family-owned fishing vessels, and the architectural firm of Phillips & Holloran.
She also had a role working with contemporary artists and artisans, curating exhibitions for Jeff Weaver, Roger Martin, Judi Rotenberg and Charles Movalli; printmaker Don Gorvett; organ and harpsichord maker Jeremy Adams; and furniture maker Jay McLaughlan.
As chief curator, Oaks managed the museum’s Collections Team, which is responsible for the care, development and interpretation of the extensive collections, including its library and archives and four historic colonial structures, according to the museum. Additionally, Oaks has contributed to Fitz Henry Lane Online, a digital resource and catalogue raisonné focused on American marine artist Fitz Henry Lane. She currently is overseeing the digitization of the museum’s collections.
Reflecting on her years at the museum, Oaks said it has been a joy and an honor.
“Cape Ann and the region are fortunate to have such a wonderful organization at their disposal, and I look forward to watching it continue to grow and thrive in the future,” she said.
In recognition of her service, the museum will appoint Oaks as curator emeritus following her retirement. Meanwhile, the museum is launching a nationwide search to fill the chief curator position.
The origins of the museum date to 1875 with the founding of the Cape Ann Scientific and Literary Association, which later became Cape Ann Museum, with a mission to “preserve and celebrate” the history and culture of the area. In addition to fine art, the museum collections include decorative art, textiles, and artifacts from the fisheries and granite industries.
The museum’s 44,000-square-foot downtown campus will reopen in the spring. This is the 150th anniversary of the organization, which currently is centered at its satellite campus at CAM Green on Poplar Street, which continues to offer exhibitions and a gift shop.
The current exhibition is “Hammers on Stone: The Granite Industry on Cape Ann,” which runs through Feb. 1. For more details, visit capeannmuseum.org.
To read the full Gloucester Daily Times article, click here.
