Art Hubs: Where to See, Hear, Taste, and Live Art in New England

New England has long been treasured as a region of retreat for various artists, writers, and even architects. Many of the historic artist colonies founded and frequented by famous cultural players of the 18th and 19th centuries (Dublin, NH, and Provincetown, MA, for example) are still active today as institutes, schools, museums, or simply lively hubs where makers still love to congregate. If you too are seeking creative inspiration, or if you enjoy brushing elbows with imaginative types and want to vacation like an artist, the following four corners of New England have galleries, cafes, historical sites, and salon-like bars to transport you into those higher aesthetic realms.

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The Berkshire region of Western Massachusetts has about as many world-class museums as it does summer homes owned by New Yorkers. In the hip post-industrial North Adams, the modernist museum Mass Moca presents avant garde dance performances and high profile names like Ai Wei Wei and Sol Lewitt. Just north is picturesque Williamstown with The Clark Art Institute, a privately funded collection of Old Master oils, exquisite ceramics, and historical photographs of New England. Also in Williamstown is the free-of-charge Williams College Museum of Art. There you will find works from all over the world, and a few of Diane Arbus’ original pieces which any enthusiast of street photography will love.

Art in Eastern Massachusetts

Across the state on the Atlantic coast, Cape Cod and the Islands are giving Boston a run for its money as sophisticated centers of culture and art in New England. At the very end of the peninsula are Provincetown and Truro, two outer cape towns that sport major art institutions as well as the beloved cottages of famous poets (Mary Oliver), actors (Ben Affleck), and painters (Edward Hopper). The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown offers summer classes and events like readings, studio tours, and auctions. Provincetown at large is also chock-full of fine art galleries and runs a star-studded international film festival every June. In Truro are fun-loving Castle Hill and the more refined Cape Cod Modern House Trust. Castle Hill is a community arts organization and a local favorite for pottery classes or outdoor drawing camps for kids. An architect’s dream organization, the Cape Cod Modern House Trust is a collection of modern homes that lay peppered within the National Seashore. Preserved by the trust, these gems are available to tour on certain scheduled days from May to October.

Art in Vermont

“You can’t throw a stone without hitting a poet/painter/potter,” is a phrase you are likely to hear no matter where you are in Vermont. To the south is Brattleboro, land of gorgeous brick mills and groovy grocers. This river town has a main street full of galleries and shops showcasing locally made goods, a prestigious circus school, a historic Art Deco hotel-theatre, an energetic performance culture, and a rich history in letterpress printing. To the west, Manchester is a place to experience New England art that’s certainly off the beaten path: The Southern Vermont Arts Center is a large community of artists, scholars, and locals who collaborate to put on exhibits, lectures, and performances at the well equipped campus. Follow the Connecticut River north to White River Junction and discover the hive of art collectives in the Tip Top building, fabulous plays at Northern Stage, and future New Yorker cartoonists studying away at the Center for Cartoon Studies. An old railroad town, White River is also home to the studio/store of Stacey Hopkins, a nature-inspired jewelry designer who exhibits at the Milan and Paris fashion weeks every year. Still not convinced? Visit the Vermont Arts Council website for comprehensive listings of where and when art is taking place in the state.

Art in New Hampshire

You can’t go wrong with a contemporary art scene known as “ebullient.” Portsmouth, NH, is an ideal place to experience the next generation of art in New England. Once a month, nine local galleries take part in a First Friday Gallery Walk – see the latest works and chat over complimentary wine and cheese. Over in Manchester, the Currier Museum of Art maintains a collection of modern and classic works, as well as the famous Zimmerman House by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Zimmerman is the only house designed by Wright in New England. Take a tour to experience the luxurious modern vision that has earned Wright his legacy as a genius. Up in the hills and out of earshot of Interstate-93 is the Monadnock region. Dublin, NH, which has long been home to the descendants of writer Henry James, is still a hamlet with not much more than a lake and a general store. But the non-profit Monadnock Art keeps things lively by putting on annual studio tours.

Art in Maine

Up in Maine, the small coastal town of Ogunquit and surrounding villages provide a satisfying foil to the ever-popular Portland, lending a pastoral flavor to art in New England. Painted by the likes of Edward Hopper and Charles Woodbury, the rocky coast around Ogunquit is mesmerizing to all. As far back as the 1920s, creative types were flocking there and forming collectives to open galleries like the Barn Gallery, which is still around today. At the Barn you can see paintings, live artist talks, and photographs by the little-known but much-admired Olive Pierce, who photographed fishermen of rural Maine in the 1980s.

The True Beauty of Art in New England

When you take a tour of these local scenes and dive into the art of New England , you’ll experience our superior landscapes through the eyes of artists who love our wild coasts, majestic mountains, and winding rivers just as much as you do.

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