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: Supersized Weems Cat at CAM
As part of a $23 million renovation, Cape Ann Museum recast 8-ft version of Katharine Weems sculpture for a permanent home in courtyard
by Erika Brown | May 22, 2026
Photo by Matt Genta.
On Friday, the Cape Ann Museum took delivery of a very special item—an outsized sculpture with a Manchester connection.
The monumental bronze sculpture—“Seated Cat (Sphinx)”—is an enlarged version of a 1941 work by noted animal Manchester sculptor Katharine Lane Weems. The cat was placed in its permanent home in the renovated downtown courtyard as part of the museum’s reopening following a nearly 20-month closure.
The new bronze stands approximately eight feet tall, or about 10 feet including its base, and was modeled directly from the original sculpture, which measures roughly 18 inches high. Matthew Genta from the Manchester by the Sea Museum attended the installation to capture the historic moment.
The enlarged version was created by sculptor Robert Shure of Skylight Studios in Woburn, who was on hand Friday to ensure safe delivery of the sculpture. Shure worked with Weems during her lifetime and has completed numerous large-scale public art projects throughout New England.
Museum officials said the project cost more than $100,000 and is intended to recognize Weems’ contributions as one of Cape Ann’s most prominent 20th-century sculptors.
Weems lived from 1899 to 1989 and was born into a Boston family. Her studio was in her home on Summer Street in Manchester, known as “The Chimneys.”
She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston under sculptor Charles Grafly and became widely known for her animal sculptures. Among her best-known works are the bronze rhinoceroses outside Harvard University’s Biological Laboratories and the “Dolphins” sculpture installed at the New England Aquarium in 1979.
The sculpture was installed by crane at approximately 10 a.m. Friday in the Cape Ann Museum’s granite courtyard at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. It’s there now for everyone to enjoy.
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