Charles Hawthorne: Provincetown

"By the Sea" by Charles Hawthorne

"Charles Hawthorne's fascination with the sea and the people who worked and lived by it led him to Holland in 1898. That next year he went to Provincetown. There he found not only an unspoiled fishing village with spectacular contrasts of sand, sea and sky, but also a clarity of atmosphere and a unique quality of light.

His ability to draw people to him brought a number of other painters, such as John Noble, Richard Miller and Max Bohm to Provincetown. His unique gifts as a teacher brought, over the years, thousands of young students tot he Cape Cod School of Art, which he founded in 1899.

Probably he, more than any other one person, was responsible for the growth of Provincetown as an art center because of the success and popularity of the school. Originally attracted to its classes, many of the students have kept their close connection with the town even after becoming established painters in their own right." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Hawthorne on Painting" by Charles Webster Hawthorne.)