When the painting will move to the Phillips Collection Washington, D.C.
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation donates painting to Cape Ann Museum’s permanent collection
Gottlieb’s 1936 oil painting is part of popular Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea exhibition, closing Sept. 27 in Gloucester and moving to The Phillips Collection in October
Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled, c. 1936. Oil on Masonite, 18x24 in. Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Gift of the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, 2026 (Accession #2026.044.001). © 2026 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
GLOUCESTER, MA. (September 23, 2026) – The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation announced that it will donate one of the artist’s oil paintings, Untitled, c. 1936, to the Cape Ann Museum’s permanent collection. The painting is part of the critically-acclaimed exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, which closes in Gloucester on Sept. 27 and moves onto The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. from October 24 through January 24, 2027.
“In recognition of the exceptional efforts of The Cape Ann Museum and Guest-Curator Eliza Rathbone in organizing the exhibition Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By The Sea, and also in appreciation of the great support and interest in this exhibition and these artists shown by the community of Cape Ann, the Gottlieb Foundation is pleased to present the Adolph Gottlieb painting, Untitled, c. 1936, oil on Masonite, 18 x 24 inches, to the Cape Ann Museum of Gloucester, Massachusetts,” announced Sanford Hirsch, Executive Director of the Gottlieb Foundation for 50 years. “This gift is to become part of its permanent collection and to further its purpose as a Museum to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the region.”
“Untitled is an important transitional painting based on sketches the artist made of the piers in Gloucester during one of his many summers on Cape Ann, and is a part of the history of the region,” Hirsch said. “The painting depicts a lone figure on a pier, a gray presence on a gray day, in a manner that shows his early interest in Surrealism. It is fitting that this painting will belong to the community where it was conceived, and it is our hope that it will continue to be valued by this and future generations of Cape Ann’s citizens and visitors.”
Sanford Hirsch (center), longtime Director of the Gottlieb Foundation, at the Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea symposium panel discussion at the Cape Ann Museum on September 18, 2026.
The current exhibition in which Untitled, c.1936 has been on view, tells the story of three New York artists and friends, Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, and Milton Avery, who summered together on Cape Ann off and on for over three decades. More than 25,000 people have visited the exhibition at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester since it opened on June 30.
Founded in 1976, the Gottlieb Foundation has two main purposes: to offer individual visual artists annual grants and a separate program to support visual artists in emergencies; and, to utilize its collection of art to organize or lend to relevant public exhibitions. The Foundation maintains the archive of Gottlieb’s life and work and assists in planning exhibitions. The painting donation is an unexpected and much appreciated gift to Cape Ann Museum.
Museum Director Oliver Barker said Gottlieb’s painting is important because it offers an historic look into Cape Ann’s turning point from a thriving granite industry region to one facing economic uncertainty during the 1930s and the Great Depression. “This work makes an important contribution to the Museum following such a successful exhibition, and it is especially meaningful because the Gottlieb Foundation does not typically make institutional donations like this. The Foundation’s decision was inspired by their partnership with the Museum and their recognition of how warmly this community embraced the exhibition. That is truly powerful.”
The Gottlieb painting is the second significant donation to the Museum as a result of the exhibition. Last month, Mark Rothko’s son, Dr. Christopher Rothko, announced the gift of his father’s 1934 watercolor and gouache painting, Untitled (wharf, Gloucester, Massachusetts), to the Museum’s permanent collection.
Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea was guest-curated by Rathbone, Chief Curator Emerita at The Phillips Collection. A distinguished scholar with extensive expertise on Rothko, Avery, and Gottlieb. Rathbone’s deep connection to the artists' families enabled her to uncover new insights into their collaborative summers on Cape Ann.
After the exhibition closes in Gloucester on Sept. 27, it moves to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., marking the first time an exhibition organized by the Cape Ann Museum will tour to a national museum.
In the last few years, the Cape Ann Museum has been the recipient of generous gifts of art and has also been acquiring important new works through purchase as it expands its holdings. In 2023, Janet and William “Wilber” Ellery James announced a gift of 300 exemplary works of Cape Ann American art to the Museum, helping to build momentum for a remarkable period of collecting and philanthropy. Outside of this transformational gift from the Gottlieb Foundation, the Museum has welcomed hundreds of new acquisitions in recent years, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, decorative arts, and archival materials.
The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the region and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum’s Downtown campus is a major cultural institution on Boston’s North Shore, welcoming thousands of local, national, and international visitors annually to its exhibitions, programs, and community-led events. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the fisheries and granite industries, four historic structures, a Library & Archives, and a sculpture garden in the heart of downtown Gloucester.
The Cape Ann Museum’s Downtown campus is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. General Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for Cape Ann residents and seniors. Youth (under 18), students with ID, and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents receive free general admission on the second Saturday of each month. During Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, additional fees apply and timed ticketing is required.
The Cape Ann Museum Green (CAM Green), the Museum’s campus off Grant Circle and Route 128 in Gloucester, is home to the 12,000-square-foot Janet & William Ellery James Center, built in 2020. The center includes a flexible exhibition and community programming space designed to reach broader audiences with new exhibits and public programs. CAM Green, which served as the Museum’s base of operations during the renovations, features three historic structures—the White Ellery House (1710), the Babson-Alling House (c. 1740), and an adjacent barn (c. 1740)—as well as a Contemporary Art Wetu (2023–2024) and a Mush8n (mi-shoon) (2023), an Eastern Woodlands boat. CAM Green is closed for the season.
More information can be found on capeannmuseum.org or please call (978)283-0455 x110.
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