As Nantucketers know, art and antiques reflecting a seafaring heritage bring home the spirit of the Faraway Island. On-island, discover period lightship baskets and folk artist Ralph Cahoon’s cavorting mermaids at Wayne Pratt. Luminist yachting scenes by William R. Davis can be discovered at Holland & Co. Nantucket Spirit: The Art and Life of Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin, a special exhibition based on Margaret Moore Booker’s recent publication of the same title, features paintings by American realist Elizabeth R. Coffin (1850–1930). On view through October 8 at The Egan Institute of Maritime Studies at the Coffin School. Nantucket, MA, tel. 508.228.2505.
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Elizabeth R. Coffin (American, 1850–1930), Seaweed Gatherers, 1889. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Coffin School Trustees, Nantucket, MA; photography by Terry Pommett.
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A record of Nantucket’s faltering transition into the Industrial Age, Eastman Johnson’s 1873 painting A Falling Market, a new acquisition by the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association (NHA), captures the forlorn Round Top windmill prior to its impending demolition. At the NHA’s Whaling Museum, take in the exhibition Artifacts from the Pacific Island, on view through October. Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, MA, tel. 508.228.1894. |
