De Hirsh Margules, Mother Ann Lighthouse, Eastern Point, Gloucester, 1946. Gouache on paper. Gift of Jean M. Horblit, 2002. [Acc. #2002.004.002]
Manchester Cricket: The Open Door Donates Folly Cove Rarity, “Zodiac,” to Cape Ann Museum
By Editorial Staff, December 19, 2025
On Friday, a team from The Open Door arrived at the Cape Ann Museum with a very special donation: an exceptionally rare textile, “Zodiac” by Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios, founder of the Folly Cove Designers, the pioneering group of artists who carved linoleum blocks and printed them on fabric in Cape Ann between 1941 and 1969.
The piece has been highly sought after and is considered a true “unicorn” among enthusiasts of Folly Cove textiles. The work had been donated to The Open Door’s Second Glance thrift shop, and first identified by volunteer Kathie Groves, a resident of Gloucester and Second Glance’s resident Folly Cove expert.
While the museum has some of Burton’s original sketches for Zodiac, this marks the first time the final print will join the collection—a meaningful moment in the museum’s ongoing effort to rediscover and preserve lost Folly Cove Designer works. This is the second donation in a year of a notable piece of Cape Ann’s artistic heritage by The Open Door to the museum. Last year, two Folly Cove textiles were donated to the museum’s collection
Julie LaFontaine, president and CEO of The Open Door, said the donation makes sense. “This is where it belongs,” she said of the donation.
Oliver Barker, CAM Director, said he was grateful for the donation, and the partnership shown by the community nonprofit whose mission is to meet regional food insecurity with resources and food. Barker announced the Cape Ann Museum has launched a public campaign to five missing works by the Folly Cove Designers. He also said the museum was planning an expansion of the gallery devoted to the Folly Cove Designers as part of CAM’s $20 million redesign of its Pleasant Street location in downtown Gloucester.
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