A region positively steeped in culture and history, New England is a true haven for art collectors and connoisseurs of good food, fine wine and a vibrant culture. Year and after, visitors flock to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard to experience that idyllic East Coast charm. And the distinctly maritime region is filled with enough art museums, galleries and talented artists to keep the most energetic collectors on their toes.
Hyannis Harbor in Cape Cod at dusk. Photo by Matt Seuss.
In the beach town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, visitors will find America’s oldest continuous arts colony and a beacon for LGBTQ+ culture. While many of the greats in American art like Jackson Pollock, Norman Rockwell and Milton Avery found continuous inspiration in the beauty of the town, it continues to grow and expand as a modern day art destination. Prestigious establishments that call Provincetown home include the Cape School of Art—the first outdoor school of figure painting in America started by Charles Webster Hawthorne—and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, which houses a collection of over 3,000 works by more than 700 artists.
Rose vines grow up the side of a building in beautiful Nantucket. Photo by Jamie Holmes.
South of the Cape is the seafaring town and cobblestone streets of Nantucket. Among the many adventures to be had on these islands include the summer event the Nantucket Summer Antiques Show, taking place this August 5 to 8 and featuring more than 30 carefully selected fine antiques dealers and art galleries from the U.S. and abroad. Hosted by the Artists Association of Nantucket, Plein Air Nantucket takes place every summer and invites artists of all skill levels to gather outdoors and paint the picturesque island. 
A view of Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, MA. Courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.Southwest of the Cape on Martha's Vineyard, visitors will find another menagerie of art galleries and cultural gems. The Oak Bluffs Art District is home to the Arts District Stroll, a summer staple in the Martha’s Vineyard art scene, with more than a dozen galleries located along a single road.
Peruse through the following pages of this destination section to learn more about some of the arts institutions, organizations and artists hailing from this vibrant region.
+++
The Copley Society of Art, Co|So
158 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116, (617) 536-5049
info@copleysociety.org
www.copleysociety.org
The Copley Society of Art, Co|So is the oldest non-profit arts association in the United States, with a history dating back to 1879. They currently represent over 300 living artist members, ranging in experience from students to nationally-recognized artists and in style from traditional and academic realists to contemporary and abstract painters, photographers and sculptors. Among these is accomplished bronze artist Michael Alfano. 
The Copley Society of Art, Milton and Rose Friedman, bronze, approx. 50 x 60 x 36”, by Michael Alfano. Capitaf, Fairlee, VT.
The Copley Society of Art, Great Blue Heron, bronze, 43 x 26 x 14”, by Michael Alfano. Museum of Science, Yawkey Gallery, Boston, MA.
The Copley Society of Art, River Otter, bronze, 41” high, by Michael Alfano. Museum of Science, Boston, MA.
The gallery hosts between 10 and 12 exhibitions each year, including solo exhibitions, thematic group shows, juried competitions, scholarships and residencies, as well as hosting fundraising events. Dedicated to the enjoyment of visual arts, the organization provides a platform for arts cultivation while engaging and educating the public. Artist membership is made up of contemporary and traditional artists admitted by a credentialed committee. Membership is open to both artists and patrons whose combined contributions help support the educational and community outreach programs, essential to the organization’s mission since 1879.
+++
Janis H. Sanders
info@janissanders.com
www.janissanders.com
Most of Janis H. Sanders’ work is done as spontaneously as possible, with only minimal blocking in of forms. The artist begins each painting with the sky, which he considers the most important element of a scene. “Salt air, salt spray, sweet smell of summer grass, verdant marsh, an old house at the water’s edge, wind in your hair, sun on your face. These elements draw me outdoors, to the grassy dunes of Truro, the calm marshes of the North Shore, to the rugged cliffs of Maine,” says Sanders. 
Janis H. Sanders, Rose Dune, oil on panel, 36 x 36 x 1½" (framed)
“The sky is light, some days slightly purple, sometimes hazy cream, clear aqua, rosy, peach, celadon; we are immersed in it. Sky is the key to determine the entire atmosphere of the painting, and visually and practically provide the backdrop for other objects in view,” he adds. 
Janis H. Sanders, Farmhouse & Lupines, oil on panel, 24 x 24 x 15/8"
His self-assigned task for each work is to convey the ethereal thing of light in paint, as the sun casts its light upon the world. Sanders paints vigorously and expressively, applying paint with a palette knife in blocks or areas of color, smoothing and blending minimally to keep the paint fresh. “I take tremendous joy in the attempt and the subsequent sharing of the result with you,” says Sanders. “Thank you for looking [and] sharing the experience.”
Janis H. Sanders, Marsh Reflection, oil on panel, 24 x 36 x 15/8"He is represented by Chatham Fine Art in Chatham, Massachusetts; Camden Falls Gallery in Camden, Maine; The Gallery at Some Sound in Mt. Desert, Maine; and Alpers Fine Art in Rockport, Massachusetts.
+++
Provincetown Office of Tourism
(508) 487-3298
tourism@provincetown-ma.gov
www.ptowntourism.com
Provincetown, the beautiful and freewheeling Massachusetts beach town, is America’s oldest continuous arts colony. It is also a welcoming and inclusive destination, thanks to its standing as the premier LGBTQ+ haven in the United States. Art and lifestyle come together here as nowhere else in the world, a white picket fence town where cutting-edge art meets the celebratory energy of queer life. Provincetown’s artistic bona fides were established well over a century ago by painter Charles Hawthorne, founder of the Cape Cod School of Art. The artists that followed over the decades were attracted by the town’s bohemian spirit and its singular light, and they ranged from Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell to Edward Hopper, Norman Rockwell, Milton Avery, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, Franz Kline and Lee Krasner.
Public mural art in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.The art history is impressive, but Provincetown is still a thriving art town to this day, buzzing with contemporary painters, sculptors and mixed media artists, ablaze with innovation and those who are not afraid to push the boundaries. They may study in workshops at the Cape School of Art, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Fine Arts Works Center, but then flock to Tea Dance in the afternoons to unwind.
An artist works on a painting in plein air. Courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.
A view of the beach at dusk in beautiful Provincetown. Courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.
In Provincetown, art finds its way into bars and hotels and cafes, as well as more than 60 independent galleries along Commercial Street. The town’s Friday night gallery strolls are the highlight, a legendary time to discover new work, to meet and mingle, sip wine and then head off to an evening of cocktails and dinner, followed by dancing or a drag show. It may officially be a Massachusetts Cultural District but, unofficially, Provincetown is a place of exuberance, artistic self-expression and fun.
+++
The Gallery at Tree’s Place
60 Route 6A, Orleans MA 02653
(508) 255-1330
www.treesplace.com
The Gallery at Tree’s Place, Eternal Love, oil on canvas, 16 x 12", by Yun Wei.
The Gallery at Tree’s Place, Perpetual Motion, graphite on paper, 36 x 48”, by Katherine B. Young.
The Gallery at Tree’s Place is regarded as one of America’s finest contemporary realism galleries. Featuring more than 50 artists and sculptors, including Michael Whelan, Richard Loud, Kathy Anderson, Mark Beck, Ken Salaz, Gwen Marcus and many more. New additions to the gallery this year are George Angelini, Yun Wei, Leonard Mizerek and Greg Roberts. Located in beautiful Cape Cod, Tree’s Place collectors consider the gallery a must-see while on vacation. This summer the gallery will be holding three salons offering new works throughout the summer season.
The Gallery at Tree’s Place, Passing By, oil on linen, 12 x 24", by Antonia Tyz Peeples.
+++
Susan Powell Fine Art
679 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT, (203) 318-0616,
www.susanpowellfineart.com
Susan Powell Fine Art is a fine art gallery representing award-winning artists with an emphasis on contemporary realism. Longtime gallery director and private art dealer Susan Powell opened the Madison, Connecticut, gallery in 2003. The gallery is widely respected for its integrity and personal service and has been voted the best gallery to buy art on the Connecticut shoreline.
Susan Powell Fine Art, An Early Summer Sail, oil, 16 x 20", by Paul Beebe.
Artists of note include Kathy Anderson, a Master Signature Member of Oil Painters of America, acclaimed for her oils of gardens and florals. Del-Bourree Bach has won over 250 awards for his detailed landscapes and seascapes. David Dunlop’s colorful landscapes of nature and New York City bridge realism and abstraction. Zufar Bikbov, Tom Hughes, Neal Hughes, Andrew Lattimore and George Van Hook, award-winning plein air landscapists, have all garnered numerous awards. Jeanne Rosier Smith, best known for perfectly catching the light through the top curl of ocean waves, is another popular gallery artist working in the medium of pastel. 
Susan Powell Fine Art, Seashell Samba, oil on laminated aluminum, 24 x 36", by David Dunlop.Exciting shows include the gallery’s annual Summer in New England group show, on view June 24 to September 5, and the upcoming solo show by realist painter Vincent Giarrano. Lattimore’s Road to Sachem Pond on Block Island is part of the gallery’s Summer in New England show. “I loved this road initially for the deeply carved lines in the road,” Lattimore says of the piece, “but what further intrigued me was the cast shadow that fell in abstract patterns across the road from the tree on the right. The serenity of the ocean in the distance, just beyond the road drew my eye to wander down it as the soft breeze of the Atlantic and the scent of the salt water was all around me. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
+++
Thanassi Art Gallery
234 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657, (508) 487-0233
www.thanassigallery.com
Two passions collided and blossomed when artist Thanassi was young. He began painting at the beach with his grandmother in 1969, where he has been painting ever since. The gallery was opened in 1989, and is now in its 33rd year of business. “My artistic vision is inspired by the unique light, nature and life one finds in Provincetown,” says the artist. 
Thanassi, Long Point, oil on canvas, 36 x 60"Studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and later studying with a dozen artists, helped to fine-tune Thanassi’s skills. This includes studying the techniques of the Dutch Masters, which involves an underpainting, followed by 12 thin glazes of oil paint, creating the ethereal depth and light in his paintings.
“The other important aspect of my work involves meditation,” says Thanassi. “The process of my painting begins with meditation at the sea-shore, losing myself within the tranquility of nature and the eternal sea, absorbing the peace and tranquility of my surroundings, then meditating again in my studio, releasing that tranquil feeling into my work.”
Thanassi, Herring Cove, oil on canvas, 36 x 48"Thanassi’s paintings are filled with strong emotions, deep thought and feelings, conveyed by the looseness of his brushstrokes, simplicity in his lines and freedom in his figures. “My ethereal, minimalist seascapes go beyond the traditional form and state of mind,” he says, “as they extrude a serene and calming affect which mirrors one’s soul and existence.” —
Powered by Froala Editor
