Cahoon Museum of American Art

About Our Organization

The Cahoon Museum of American Art embraces the full vitality of American Art from the early 19th century to the present. As a particular emphasis, it celebrates the creative spirit of Ralph and Martha Cahoon through the preservation of both their art and the house in which they live and had their studio. Through the Cahoon Museum’s display and development of its permanent collection, through the exhibitions that it mounts each year, and through its educational programs for children and adults, it seeks to promote the appreciation and study of American art with special reference to the art of its region as both more broadly (the Northeast)and more narrowly (Cape Cod) defined.

Our Mission

The Cahoon Museum’s mission is to foster, stimulate and promote the study, collection, preservation, appreciation and development of American art. The museum has a particularly strong collection of paintings by folk artists Ralph and Martha Cahoon as well as a choice collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art that includes marine paintings, landscapes, folk portraits and still lifes. Its collection of works by contemporary Cape artists is growing steadily.

Our History

The Cahoon Museum of American Art was founded in 1984 by local art collector Rosemary Rapp and is housed in a 1775 Gregorian Colonial. From 1945 to 1982, the building was the home and studio of contemporary primitive painters Ralph and Martha Cahoon. In 2010, the museum will observe the centennial of Ralph Cahoon’s birth. Born in Chatham in 1910, Cahoon is certainly the most famous native artist the Cape has ever produced. Highlights of the museum’s collection include works by such notable artists as James E. Buttersworth, William Bradford, Ralph Blakelock, Levi Wells Prentice, John J. Enneking, Reynolds Beal, William Paxton, Benjamin Champney, Erastus Salisbury Field and William Matthew Prior, as well as the beloved paintings of the Cahoons.

Our Services and Programs

The museum offers a variety of exhibitions (usually seven or eight shows annually), regularly rotates its permanent collection, offers gallery talks with exhibiting artists, adult art classes, and a children’s field-trip program called get smART! and a gift shop. The museum also presents several major events throughout the year, including Cahoon in Bloom (a pairing of art and floral displays), a house tour, and the Great Brush Off! art auction.

Fees Charged

Admission: museum members are free; nonmembers $6; seniors (60 and over) $5; students (with ID) $4; children under 12 free.

Hours/Schedule

Hours are 10-4 Tuesday-Saturday and 1-4 Sunday. Closed in January and on major holidays. Please call (508) 428-7581 for additional information.

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