Cahoon Museum of American Art

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. My fifth stop was Cahoon Museum in Cotuit, MA. Currently celebrating its 40^th year anniversary, the museum was started in 1984 in the former home of the husband-and-wife folk artist team Ralph Cahoon and Martha Farham Cahoon. Artists, architects, and historians alike will delight in these unique buildings filled with local art.

Ralph was from a Scottish fishing family who had lived on the Cape for many generations, while Martha was from an artistic Swedish immigrant family, although she was born in Boston. They met in Chatham, the town on the “elbow” of Cape Cod, at a dance in 1930 and married just two years later in 1932. They combined a wide range of folk art traditions and made a living decorating furniture throughout the Great Depression and World War II. In 1945, they bought the Crocker Homestead, now part of the museum, and decorated the interior in their signature style. They loved seashores, country landscapes, mermaids, and flowers.

One cannot go far in the art community without the mention of Josiah K. Lilly III, a founder of Heritage Museums & Gardens. He was a fan on the Cahoons and commissioned many paintings from them. In 1982, Ralph died, and Martha sold Crocker Homestead to art collector and museum founder Rosemary Rapp. Martha lived another seventeen years before she died in 1999. Their descendants continue to live in the area and are active in the arts community.

As for Crocker Homestead, this Georgian style home was built by Zenas Crocker, who wins “best name” for this post. According to Behind the Name, my go-to site for name etymology, this Anglicized Greek name originally meant “gift of Zeus”, but was likely intended to be for the Christian apostle who worked as a lawyer and appeared in Titus 3:13. Zenas constructed his house by 1782, when he was twenty-one years old. His grandson, Ezra Crocker, turned the building into a tavern because the road was so busy, a trait that has only increased in time. Several years before in 1739, the house next door was built by Ebenezer Crocker, father of Zenas. The Cahoon Museum bought this pretty house and backyard garden in 2022 with plans to put more galleries in the space. Clearly I must go back in a few years to see how they are doing!

During my visit the museum, three quilt exhibits were ongoing. The first was The Quilted Cahoon, which ran between June 22 and September 15, 2024. San Francisco artist Joe Cunningham turned the museum into a giant quilt by covering the exterior in colorful recycled sails. The second was the gallery exhibition Joe Cunningham: Quilts for These Times featuring standard sized quilts, which he used to express his thoughts on modern events, including the war in Ukraine and the election. The third was Small Quilts, Big Stories, which showcased a stunning array of fiberarts by over the past three hundred years by both well-known quilters and forgotten artists.

From March 14 to December 22, 2024, the exhibit 40 Years of Collecting featured highlights from the permanent collection of the museum. Oil paintings captured the architecture and coasts of the Cape, while painted trunks preserved how people once stored their belongings. Since the interior of the building is part of the permanent collection, this is a good time to mention two unique features. The walls of many rooms have folk style painted decoration made by the Cahoons. Meanwhile on the second floor, if someone wanted to move between what were once two upstairs parlors, they could have used the door or swung the entire wall to the ceiling. I had last seen this exact design at General Artemas Ward House in Shrewsbury, MA along with a similar design at the Quaker Meeting House in Jamestown, RI. Of course, the house also had exposed gunstock posts.

Sculptures covered the grounds. As soon as I arrived, I spotted a pair of metal trees created by Alfred Glover, who had many art installations at nearby Heritage Museums & Gardens. These sculptures were called Espalier Trees: Ralph and Martha. A small sundial reminded me of its much larger counterpart also found at HMG. Other favorites from the backyard of the Crocker Homestead included Odysseus, a metal turtle created by Robin Tost, and blue painted trees by Konstantin Dimopoulos.

In front of the garage at Ebenezer Crocker House was the floral inspired statue Harbinger by Don Nakamura, while in the backyard was the special exhibit Garden Art Party featuring dresses created of found materials by Deborah H. Carter. A trio of black dresses on the right side of the garden included Dinner Bell made of flatware, Me Shell made of shells and faux pearls, and Fleur Debris from artificial flowers painted black. Also in the collection was white bridal gown called Unbridled and a colorful dress of newspaper delivery bags and bird seed bags called The Seedy Side of the News. I last saw dresses made by Carter during the 2023 SculptureNow exhibit at The Mount in Lenox, MA.

Traffic near the museum is heavy, so traffic noise can be heard on the side of the building near the road. Additionally, drivers are aggressive and frequently do not yield to visitors attempting to enter or exit the parking lot. The museum is well-lit throughout the space and fully accessible to those with limited mobility or using a wheelchair due to the installation of an elevator; however, the entrance experience was not equitable. I tested the accessible entrance method and found that it brought me into an abandoned kitchen-meeting area with vibes more akin to a church basement than a museum. A sign on letter paper at the far end of this room told me where to go in all caps but did not specify the location of the elevator. While a good starting effort was made here, no user testing was conducted.

Cahoon Museum is open March through December, Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the website or at the door. The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $0 for children under 12, $2 for Card to Culture holders, and $0 for NARM members, NEMA members (like me!), and Blue Star families on certain days. With frequently rotating exhibits and plans for expansion, this is a great stop for those looking for unique and high quality art.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10