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Original watercolor by Marion Hall

Housed in the 1823 Abigail Hooper Trask House, the Museum invites you to experience Manchester-by-the-Sea’s fascinating past through restored period rooms, paintings and sculptures by master artists, collections from the town's furniture era and maritime history, educational programs, speakers, and exhibits.  

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Summer Hours:  

Wednesday through Friday, 10 AM to 3 PM; Saturday, 11 AM to 4 PM.

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Don't Miss 'Summers by the Sea' Exhibit 

 

The exhibit, which will run until the end of September, examines Manchester-by-the-Sea's transformation from a furniture-making mill town to an international summer-resort destination.

 

A sold-out audience of more than 100 people attended the "Summers by the Sea: Masconomo House Hotel & the Resort Era" exhibit opening and lecture on May 30.  Since its opening, the exhibit has been seen by visitors from as far away as Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

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Image from the cover of Masconomo House Hotel's Dinner Menu of August 31, 1881.

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The Fire Engines Inside Seaside No. 1 

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Thanks to all who stopped by our Open House at Seaside No. 1 during Festival by the Sea.  

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More than 200 visitors came to learn about the town’s two antique fire engines — the Torrent, a hand pumper built in 1832, and Seaside No. 2, a horse-drawn steam pumper acquired in 1902.  Check back here for future open house dates.

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New Name, New Sign 

The Museum has a new sign with our new name — Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum, which is only the third name to grace the front of the Museum in the past 99 years*. The sign is based on a logo designed by Becca Campbell, Museum Vice President.  Like all good creative ideas, it started with a sketch on a napkin. Becca then worked with Jerry DeFazio of Daily Printing to finalize the logo, which has a crisp and clean design, ideal for visibility.  We would like to give a shout out to both Becca and Jerry!     Our thanks go out to Alison Anholt-White, Museum Trustee — who spearheaded the sign production; from sign creation to mockup testing to installation, and the many steps in between.  We also would like to acknowledge Gary Jernegan of Cape Ann Sign, who manufactured and installed the sign.  The logo expresses the Museum's brand goals: Welcoming — We invite all to enjoy our town's history and celebrate our community. Coastal DNA — The ocean is woven throughout our town's history and in the stories showcased in the Museum (Merchant Sea Captains, Salt Cod Fish Yards, Summer Seaside Resort era, hydro-powered Cabinetmaking Mills, and even Sea Serpents). *  In 1925, the Abigail Hooper Trask House — at 10 Union Street — became the home of the Manchester Historical Society, which was founded in 1886.  In 2012, the organization changed its name to Manchester Historical Museum, and at the September 2023 Annual Meeting, Museum members voted to change the name to Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum.

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Winslow Homer's Answer to Controversy

 

Thanks to a gift from Christine Virden of MBTS, the Museum has added to its permanent Collection a wood engraving of Winslow Homer’s iconic “Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide),” depicting three young women emerging from a swim in the ocean at Singing Beach.  It was published in the August 6, 1870 edition of Boston's periodical Every Saturday.

 

A few months earlier, at a New York show, Homer first exhibited his oil painting* of the same name and subject matter.  The painting was panned by critics.  They were disturbed that, as one wrote, the figures were “exceedingly red-legged and ungainly...”  So, Homer edited the image for Every Saturday.  In this version (shown at left), the young women's bare legs were covered with leggings, and the dog was replaced with a swim cap.

 

Homer (1836–1910) began his career as an illustrator, creating images of current events for newspapers and other periodicals in Boston and New York. Homer sometimes adapted his illustrations into watercolors and oil paintings.  He also reused the imagery of his paintings — such as “Eagle Head” — in his engravings.  
 

The more than 150-year-old engraving of Winslow Homer's “Eagle Head” is part of our summer exhibit -- “Summers by the Sea: Masconomo House Hotel & the Resort Era.”

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* Winslow Homer's oil painting is in The Met's Collection.

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