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.
Rockport fixture since 1918, serves lobster rolls and raw oysters
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