National GeographicJul 2
The most iconic New England town you’ve never visited
This Massachusetts town has inspired countless paintings and postcards, transforming it into the blueprint for coastal New England charm.
Offers a self-guided Rocky Neck Historic Art Trail
22 things in this story
- RockportNeighborhoodCoastal town on Cape Ann, inspiration for New England paintings
- Cape AnnNeighborhoodAt the turn of the twentieth century, artists drawn to Cape Ann were inspired by American Impressionists to employ…
- GloucesterNeighborhoodRockport's big-city sibling, across the harbor
- Rocky Neck Art ColonyPlaceIn neighboring Gloucester, artists lived shoulder to shoulder with fishers
- Fitz Henry LanePlaceGloucester-born artist whose harbor paintings established the peninsula as art hub
- Winslow HomerPlaceWhat they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way.
- William Morris HuntPlaceHunt was the son of a Vermont congressman.
- Cape Ann SchoolPlaceInfluential early 20th-century art movement blending Impressionism and plein air
- Rockport Art Association & MuseumMuseumPreserves works inside a colonial-style building in the historic town center
- Sam HersheyPlacePainter who lived across the street from a 12-generation resident
- Harrison CadyPlaceIllustrator of Peter Rabbit fame, roamed the neighborhood
- Motif No. 1SightMost-painted building in America, a small red fishing shack
- Bearskin NeckNeighborhoodSmall art colony where former fishing shacks are galleries and shops
- Gallery MontanaroMuseumSpecializes in Cape Ann School canvases from the 1920s-1940s
- Rocky NeckNeighborhoodOldest continuously operating art colony in the country
- The Cultural CenterRestaurantOffers a self-guided Rocky Neck Historic Art Trail
- Cape Ann MuseumMuseumDisplays country's finest regional collections, largest grouping of Fitz Henry Lane works
- Thacher IslandSightOffshore twin landmark lighthouses guide sailors into shore
- Gloucester City HallSightStone tablets etched with names of fishers lost to the Atlantic
- Roy Moore Lobster CompanyRestaurantRockport fixture since 1918, serves lobster rolls and raw oysters
- Feather & WedgeRestaurantHas a small patio, waterfront views, and a new American menu
- Halibut Point State ParkNature reserve