Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea

On June 30, the Cape Ann Museum (CAM) in Gloucester, Massachusetts, will present Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, a landmark exhibition featuring 82 works of art from 26 lending institutions, including 16 museums across the country.

On view at the Cape Ann Museum from June 30 through September 27, 2026, the exhibition is guest curated by Eliza Rathbone, Chief Curator Emerita at The Phillips Collection. Following its Gloucester debut, the exhibition will travel to The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, in October 2026—marking the first time an exhibition organized by the Cape Ann Museum will tour to a national museum.

The artists, Milton Avery (1885-1965), Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974), and Mark Rothko (1903-1970), met in New York City and were drawn to Gloucester by Avery, who first visited in the 1920s. As the oldest of the three, Avery introduced his younger friends to Cape Ann in the 1930s. Their time together in Gloucester and beyond sparked creative developments that would define their careers. Works on view—many never before seen—highlight their shared experiences by the sea, including Avery’s coastal scenes, Rothko’s early seaside figures, and Gottlieb’s beach box motifs.