Solitude by the Sea: A Legacy of Creation

This digital exhibition, curated and researched by Deora Starobin, 2025 Collections Intern at PAAM, explores the themes and imagery of the iconic Provincetown dunes, pulling artwork from PAAM’s extensive permanent collection.

Since the early 20th century artists have utilized the hidden wooden shacks nestled in the rolling hills of the Outer Cape dunes. Writers, musicians, and various visual artists have sought out the serene solitude and stillness as an outlet for their creative work.

The Peaked Hill Bars historic district of Truro and Provincetown occupies about 1,960 acres of land within the Cape Cod National Seashore. This district includes both the collection of historic shack buildings and the evocative natural landscape. Originally constructed as lifesaving huts in the maritime era of the mid 19th century, these shacks began to transition into residences through the 1920s-1950s. Dune shack dwellers and non-profit groups that supported shack use campaigned for the district to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. The dune shack preservation plan was finally completed in 2012. Today, some shacks are privately owned, while others are managed as artist residences in effort to support the creative projects of the local community.

With minimal roads leading to the residences and a lack of running water, plumbing, and electricity, these dune shacks provide a quaint space for creative minds to isolate themselves from the distractions of urban life. This essence of creative solitude encourages individuals to connect more deeply with the natural world around them. The coastal dunes are undoubtedly a distinctive landscape, originally formed from the wind blowing sand inland in response to glacial retreat and sea level changes. They are not static forms, but mounds that are constantly changing as the wind and waves erode and reshape the terrain. Solitude by the Sea highlights works from PAAM’s collection that encapsulate the stillness and stark openness of life out in the dunes. While many artists embraced the process of plein air painting true to life, some were drawn to painting abstract forms, or utilized other mediums such as etching, linocut, and camera obscura photography.

Image: Marian Roth, Perspective (from the Dune Shack Outhouse, Camera Obscura Series), 2014, Giclee print, Gift of the Artist in honor of Sharon Fay and Maxine Schaffer, framing funded by Brooke and Megan Jones, 2018