Exhibitions 2010

Click here to see the exhibition schedule for

THE LITTLE GALLERY

CHASING THE MERMAIDS

We’ll celebrate the centennial of Ralph Cahoon’s birth with an exhibition tracing the development of his style and career over some thirty years (from his discovery by a Long Island art dealer in 1953 to his death in 1982). How did those mermaids come to be the heroines of most of his paintings? Why did hot-air balloons also ascend in importance? We’ll look at the increasing sophistication of Ralph’s technique as well as his growing ability to tell a story or make a joke that’s easy to read at a glance. Prepare to be charmed and amused by this tribute to Cape Cod’s most famous native-born artist.

GALLERY TALKS (all at 11am)

Aug 3 - exhibition curator Cindy Nickerson

Aug 10 - sailor's valentine artist Sandi Blanda

Aug 17- Ralph's daughter-in-law, Ruth Cahoon

Aug 24 - author Alexander Theroux (Ralph's friend)

Click here to download an article about the exhibition from Antiques and Fine Art Magazine

Ralph Cahoon, Cape Cod Knitting, oil on panel

Moonstruck: A National Juried Exhibition

Juried by noted pastel artist Anne Heywood, this exhibition looks at how contemporary artists have used the image of the moon in their work. 92 artists provided 177 works and Heywood chose 42 works for this outstanding exhibition. Come experience this exhibition which shows that artists still find inspiration and calmness from this image whether it is interpreted as a glowing disk or a slender crescent.

GALLERY TALK (at 11 a.m.)

September 28 – Anne Heywood

COTUIT'S OWN: Artist/Illustrator Reginald Fairfax Bolles

In the early 20th century, well before Ralph Cahoon moved into the village, Cotuit had an accomplished artist in Reginald Fairfax Bolles. He painted portraits of many area residents and also illustrated magazine stories and books. Well-known and well-liked in the community, he frequently coaxed his neighbors into serving as models for such characters as sportsmen, comely flappers and eccentric, but jolly old men. Gifted at capturing personality, he himself is a personality worth rediscovering.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

It was in 1910 that the beloved patriotic anthem “America the Beautiful” was first published, setting the words of a poem by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates to music by Samuel A. Ward. Eleven Cape artists and eleven Cape weavers are observing the song’s centennial by pairing up to interpret such lyrics as “purple mountain majesties” and “from sea to shining sea.” Some painters will interpret a weaving; some weavers will interpret a painting. In other cases, they’ll draw from the same imagery simultaneously.