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Welcome to the Cape Ann Museum

Cape Ann, which lies just north of Boston, includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Essex. Cape Ann has been a leading center for artists since the 18th century, a maritime powerhouse and the source of granite for many major building projects up and down the East Coast.

The Cape Ann Museum houses the largest collection of work by native son and renowned maritime artist, Fitz Henry Lane, as well as work by other prominent painters and sculptors who lived on, visited, or were inspired by Cape Ann. The work of contemporary Cape Ann artists is also collected and exhibited. The permanent collection includes fine and decorative arts and artifacts from the major industries of the area—the fisheries and granite quarrying.

The Cape Ann Museum is comprised of two campuses. Located in the heart of Gloucester, the Cape Ann Museum’s Downtown Campus is the Museum’s primary site for exhibitions, collections, education programs, and research. It serves as a vibrant center for exploring the art, history, and culture of Cape Ann—past and present.

The reopening of the newly renovated Downtown Campus is the capstone of the Museum’s 150th anniversary and coincides with the launch of a major national exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, on view until September 27, 2026. To purchase tickets, please visit Buy Tickets.

The CAM Green Campus operates Friday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on a seasonal basis. The almost four-acre campus is home to the Janet & William Ellery James Center, three historic structures: the White-Ellery House (1710), the Babson-Alling House (c. 1740), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), as well as a Contemporary Art Wetu (2023-2024) and a Mush8n (mi-shoon) (2023), an eastern woodlands boat.