Bounties of the Sea: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Located forty miles out to sea, Provincetown is one of the world’s natural deep water harbors and is situated at the tip of Cape Cod in an area of spectacular beauty, surrounded by miles of dunes and beaches. 

A historic fishing village, Provincetown has been home to sailors, pirates, fisherman, artists, and creatives for centuries. In the nineteenth century, Provincetown, with the largest and safest natural harbor on the New England coast, was one of the greatest and busiest seaports in the country.

Fishing and whaling in Provincetown go back centuries, well before the Pilgrims arrived on Cape Cod’s sandy shores.  In fact, fishermen of a bygone era once landed mammoth 100 plus pound codfish, door-size halibut, haddock, and a variety of other valuable fish species right off the Provincetown coast.  By 1860, the Whaler’s resourcefulness had made Provincetown one of the most prosperous and enterprising towns in Massachusetts. Since the 1970s, Provincetown has evolved from hunting whales to saving whales.

Artists and fisherman have been intermingling for over a century – in many instances a fisherman would offer a share of their day’s catch to provide a meal for an artist who might otherwise go without, and as you will see in this exhibition, many artists featured fisherman and fishing as the subject of their art.  The PAAM Collection holds many examples of the sea and its occupants in variety of media including some fine examples from our jewelry collection.

THE PERMANENT COLLECTION

The permanent collection is an important measure of any museum’s value. At PAAM, the holdings of local and regional art is extensive and dynamic, comprising more than 4,000 works by over 900 artists who have worked in Provincetown and on Cape Cod. The PAAM collection weaves together at least three major art movements—each a significant strand of American art history—and creates perspectives that uniquely position the Provincetown Art Colony as a pertinent fixture to the larger art world.

Each year, PAAM presents at least two exhibitions showcasing some of the recent gifts donated to our permanent collection. As an actively collecting museum, PAAM receives on average nearly 100 new works each year, and these exhibitions allow us to proudly display a selection of those works, some of which represent our first works by an artist in our permanent collection. We extend our deepest gratitude to our new and continuing donors.

Another measure of a museum is how well it uses its collection. The PAAM collection serves as a foundation for many of our educational programs and exhibitions. Programs for both youth and adults in our Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Museum School use collection works to stimulate creativity. The Museum School courses take advantage of gallery exhibitions to clarify principles and techniques. Additionally, major museums and galleries borrow exemplary works for exhibitions around the country.