A CENTURY OF INSPIRATION, Provincetown Art Association and Museum at 100

Description

In 2014, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) celebrated its first 100 years in the oldest continuous art colony in America.

PAAM’s permanent collection is restricted to objects by artists who, at one time or another, have worked on Cape Cod. The collection officially began in 1915 and in 2014 numbered over 3,500 works of art in a variety of media by nearly 750 twentieth century and contemporary artists.

The permanent collection is an important measure of a museum’s value. And PAAM’s holdings of local and regional art is extensive and dynamic. The collection weaves together multiple art movements – each a significant strand of American art history – and creates perspectives that uniquely position the Provincetown art colony as pertinent to the larger art world.

This is PAAM’s third collection catalogue and replaces the previous book published in 1999. Since the collection has nearly tripled, it is fitting for this publication is to be released 100 years after the formal establishment of the permanent collection.

PAAM 100
Provincetown Art Association and Museum was established in 1914 by a group of artists and townspeople to build a permanent collection of works by artists of outer Cape Cod, and to exhibit art that would allow for unification within the community. In 2014, PAAM celebrated its centennial year, with programming and exhibitions that highlighted significant artists, artwork, and events that contributed to PAAM becoming the vital cultural institution it is today.