CAPE ANN PLEIN AIR EVENT HOSTED BY KAREN HANSON AND FEATURING A GALLERY OF PHOTOS BY MAYOR SEFATIA

Cape Ann Plein Air sponsors, supporters, and participating artists were treated to a fabulous party Thursday evening. The event was hosted by the the lovely and generous Karen Hanson, By the Sea Sotheby’s owner, and proud sponsor of Cape Ann Plein Air, at the stunning home of Warren Waugh.

Warren’s home overlooks Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester’s outer harbor, and the great Atlantic beyond. On the rocky outcroppings surrounding the home, participating Cape Ann Plein Air painters were perched with their easels, painting scenic vistas, which could be seen from every angle from this outstanding landscape. Guests at the party had a delightful time speaking with and observing the visiting artists.

For more information about the 2017 Cape Ann Plein Air festival, visit their website here.

Thank you to Mayor Sefatia for providing the terrific gallery of photos!!

Warren Waugh and Karen Hanson

ALL PHOTOS BY MAYOR SEFATIA

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWCSuNllvcQbfDT8MGXfBaVEkCjgOxxYSgA6Y0/

Karen Ristuben and Karen Hanson giving words of welcome and thanks to sponsors and artists.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWDuC-lBkhKWshLL9htl669ukJ3FwdLN2dK800/

ABOUT CAPE ANN PELIN AIR

To all the Artists, Collectors, Organizers, Sponsors and Visitors,

We are thrilled to inform you that we are already well into planning Cape Ann Plein Air (CAPA) – 2017! The overall timeframe and elements of the event will be similar to 2016, occurring the week of Columbus Day and featuring a Gala Art Celebration and Sale at Rockport Art Association and Museum, community Quick Draw event, and many other associated exhibits and cultural activities.

Here is a re-cap of CAPA-2106.
Just over a year ago, the idea of Cape Ann Plein Air had been just that, an idea, a great concept aspiring to bring renowned painters to this culturally historic and stunningly beautiful place. Plein Air events, where artists travel from all corners of North America to compete for significant prize money, occur dozens of times or more every year in the United States. Yet there has never been a national level event here in Cape Ann where some of the most famous artists in US history have painted en plein air. No single region is more famously recognized than Cape Ann, which provided the creative inspiration over the last two hundred years and hosted our history’s giants like Winslow Homer, Fitz Henry Lane, Edward Hopper, and N.C. Wyeth, just to name a few.
The crucial first step to launching a Plein Air Event requires raising significant prize money. Following a meeting with Applied Materials management back in January, the Applied Material Foundation agreed to provide the underwriting necessary to take Cape Ann Plein Air from a great concept to reality. Without the support of the Applied Materials Foundation, we would not be enjoying this incredible experience right now . . . and neither would you!
With that key financial backing in place early in the year, the small group of individuals informally organized as Cape Ann Plein Air 2016 (CAPA2016) went out into the community and raised funds allowing us to sponsor 25 more awards beyond the top three prizes. The additional funding provided by Stephen and Jill Bell, Linzee and Beth Coolidge, By-The-Sea Sotheby’s International Realty and the law firm of Glovsky and Glovsky, all have given CAPA 2016 national standing among all other Plein Air competitions.
Thanks to the help of local individuals and businesses, additional sponsors and Friends of CAPA 2016, we have been provided the resources to make CAPA 2016 more appealing to artists, collectors, visitors and local businesses, much more than we originally thought possible.
There are too many to name in this letter, so please read page four in the 2016 program book for the entire list of those for whose generosity we are incredibly grateful.
Finally, we would like to offer a special thanks for those who have met once and often twice a week for the last year, and spent hundreds of hours taking care of each and every part of the design and implementation of CAPA 2016. They include but are not limited to the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce (CACC), the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS), Rockport Art Association and Museum, North Shore Art Association, Essex Merchants Group, Rockport Cultural District, and Rocky Neck Art Colony.
We also would like to thank the City of Gloucester and the Towns of Essex, Rockport and Manchester-by-the-Sea for all of the logistical support required to manage such a broadreaching geographical event. Without having to ask, we were provided marketing and hospitality to reach out to a broader group of visitors from Discover Gloucester, the Manchester Historical Society and the Copley Society in Boston. Most importantly, we owe a big thanks to project leader Karen Ristuben who stayed on top of each and every detail along the way. And there have been many.
This undertaking represents a major collaboration among the arts, business and the community throughout Cape Ann, the first of its kind. As a result the Cape Ann Community Foundation is both excited and overwhelmed by the inspirational work so many have contributed. Thank you again for your participation on every level and tireless effort to make this the first of many future successful Cape Ann Plein Air events.
Sincerely,
Ken Riehl, CEO
Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce
James Caviston, President, Society for the Encouragement of the Arts
(seARTS)