September 5, 2023

By Chris Munkholm

A Gift to the Cape Ann Museum

This September 2023, a triumvirate of world class art is occupying the main galleries of Cape Ann Museum, in Gloucester Massachusetts. The stellar Edward Hopper and Stuart Davis exhibits are joined, across the hall from Hopper, by a group of artists, many of whom both worked with and knew Hopper and Davis and who populate museums the world over: Coming Home, Selections from the Janet & William Ellery James Collection. Included in the exhibition are 33 works—a small fraction of the 300-plus artworks collected over the years by Janet and William Ellery “Wilber” James—all promised gifts to the Cape Ann Museum of Art in Gloucester.

When entering the gallery housing The James Collection, your eyes are met with a visual profusion of images. Perhaps the most vivid is a harbor scene, painted by the renowned Jane Peterson, with rich azure blue waters in captivating contrast to a scarlet structure. Another stately painting, again a harbor scene, is rendered with rich ochre and muted mustard tones by artist Frederick Mulhaupt. To move into closer proximity with the paintings, and to recognize their famed artists, is a staggering experience.

Wilber James views the work on display in “Coming Home” at the Cape Ann Museum.

How did this eclectic wonderment of artwork come to exist? What magnetic force attracted these disparate and profound works into a single collection? How can a Peterson, a Mulhaupt, a Gottlieb and a Hyatt Huntington sculpture become joined in permanent preservation?

To understand the genesis of this collection, COSMOS sought out the collectors, Janet and Wilber James, who are summer residents of Rockport. They generously agreed to share the remarkable backstory behind the collection, providing a glimpse into the rare experience of collecting museum quality art. Each of the pieces in The James Collection has its own origin story, sometimes elaborate and often personal.

With this special feature article, we have permission to share six of these stories.

But first, there would be no collection and no origin stories if it were not for the successful partnership of the two collectors, who lovingly acquired and preserved each work in the collection, and accumulated them with the purpose of bringing them home to Cape Ann, to chronicle a remarkable and important place and time in American art. Our COSMOS feature begins with the indispensable history of Wilber and Janet James, who have also written the ultimate and epic story titled Coming Home that accompanies the promise of their collection to Cape Ann Museum.

Deep Roots in the Storied Era of Rockport

A lively and radical art scene was alive and well in Rockport, MA c.1950s. Left: Artists bedecked in their gilded-age best for the Annual Costume Ball, 1958. Right: Don Stone and Aldro Hibbard draw a crowd of young art supporters. Historic photos from the Rockport Art Association.

Wilber James grew up at the end of the legendary era of Rockport’s history as a summer art colony, and he sensed it was something special. Artists and art were ubiquitous. Adjacent to the James home lived artists Arnold Knauth and Jerri Ricci. Sam Hershey had a studio in his mother’s house across the street. Next door lived Grace Barron, one of Cape Ann’s women artists who worked in the style of Modigliani, and who painted a portrait of Wilber’s sister Nancy. Ruth Langland Holberg, a prolific author of children’s books and who lived next to Grace, dedicated The Catnip Man to Wilber (then Billy), his two siblings and another kid on the block, Johnny Bloombergh. His babysitter took Wilber and Nancy to Rockport Art Association shows.

When the adolescent Wilber wanted a part-time job, he bussed tables at the Blacksmith Shop Restaurant, a favorite hangout where world class artists and visiting luminaries, such as Bette Davis, congregated. Wilber bought his first painting from the restaurant’s dishwasher, paying $75 for this gift intended for his parents. The dishwasher, John Terelak, developed into a celebrated artist and remains a lifelong friend of Wilber’s. These affinities easily formed and endured in those days when friendships were dear and part of a fabric that intertwined these diverse residents.

In 1967 Wilber began a worldly odyssey, with a year in Denmark, many years in the Peace Corps where he acquired a collection of African art, and finally a chapter in Seattle, Washington, founding an art cooperative. By 1980, when he returned to his Rockport roots, Wilber had acquired the finesse needed to start a company in the energy sector, which began the trajectory of his future entrepreneurial success.

Combined Talents and the Quest Begins

As Wilber’s energy company grew, it required a specialized banking relationship that he found with a New York bank. The successful working alliance that he formed with the bank officer, Janet Burrows, eventually led to her recruitment to become an integral part of Wilber’s now diverse businesses. In an unusual course of events, their collaborative business partnership led to a strong friendship and, ultimately, to a life partnership. In 1990 Janet Burrows and Wilber James were married in Rockport.

While they shared many interests, Janet, with no predisposition to art, easily joined Wilber’s passion for art collecting. But she brought new perspectives. Janet became the analytical side of the fulcrum, a counterweight to Wilber’s more exuberant impulses. It was she who influenced the direction of the collection beyond "waves and rocks” to pursue a broader selection of works, which were still justifiably linked to the thread of artists with a Cape Ann connection. Now the banker of the family, she gave the couple the confidence to invest in paintings at new, elevated levels. Janet was a natural fit with Wilber’s talent in engaging gallerists and advisors as they pursued their collecting interest.

And thus, they went forth, as a new and eventually formidable duo, in the high adventures of collecting the finest pieces of art which they could at first afford, and then later, which they could find.

Few people have the experience of collecting museum quality art, or other rare collectibles. These are not impulsive, online, casual purchases. An acquisition can stretch over years for a variety of reasons. Patience is part of the game. Or circumstances suddenly shift which make a once unavailable piece of art both available and affordable, with the need for quick decision-making.

Perhaps the following stories of six important pieces in The James Collection will give our attentive COSMOS readers a sampling of the unpredictable, opportunistic, sometimes disappointing, and often exhilarating world of art collecting.

Six Pieces and Their Acquisition Stories

Rockwell Kent: First Snow, Greenland (Acquired 1992)

The story of the painting that took the longest to acquire begins in 1987, when Wilber was visiting New York on business. He made one of his periodic stops at the Driscoll Babcock Gallery, operated by John Driscoll with whom he was developing a congenial friendship. “Every time I visited John, I came away inspired and more informed. He was generous with his time and knowledge, even though I was not a significant client or collector,” recalls Wilber.

John knew that Wilber liked “Cape Ann” art and that he stuck to his narrow preferences. On that particular day, when Wilber asked to see a painting that “might excite him,” John deviated from the guidelines. He emerged from the storage racks and placed First Snow, Greenland on the perfectly lit viewing stand. The painting, by artist Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), depicted the remote village where Kent lived with Salamina, his Eskimo lover and her family. Wilber had spent a year in Denmark in 1967 and had an unusual familiarity with Greenland’s terrain. He was surprisingly captivated by the painting, but not surprised that the price was out of reach.

Wilber, John and Janet in New York City, October 17, 2019.

Three years later and now married, Wilber and Janet stopped in New York and made the now regular visit to the Driscoll Babcock Gallery to catch up with John when Wilber made a casual inquiry about First Snow. Yes, still available but, alas, the price had increased.

Another year passed, when one night Wilber had a vivid dream about First Snow. He bolted awake at 2am, and stirred Janet from sleep, to share the dream. An agreement was made to try to “buy the Kent,” and of sufficient urgency that they caught the 8:30am shuttle to New York and waited for the Driscoll Babcock Gallery to open.

John was surprised by their early visit and must have known something was up. But Wilber and Janet feigned nonchalance, inquiring if there were “any Kents for sale.” Indeed, John continued to hold First Snow, now priced even higher. They were undeterred and made such a successful case for ownership that John sold them the painting for the price he quoted Wilber in 1987. This was a watershed acquisition, and thus began the collection assembled by Janet and Wilber after their marriage, along with their lifelong association with John Driscoll until his death, as both dear friend and valued advisor.

Max Kuehne: Gloucester Harbor from Banner Hill (Acquired 1996)

Max Kuehne (1880-1968) emigrated to New York from Germany, becoming an athletic outdoorsman with a lifelong passion for sailing. But art was his true calling, and he became an integral part of the more experimental art world circle of the early 20th century. With a predictable attraction to a coastal art colony and an ocean to sail, from 1918 he and his family spent their summers in Rockport. They also enjoyed the camaraderie of many other artists summering in the town. In fact, the New York/Rockport nexus was so developed that one group of well-known artists, including Harison Cady, Reynold and Gifford Beal, Grace Barron, and Arnold Knauth, all lived in the same New York apartment building. Their socializing easily transferred up to Rockport for the summer, and likely shared transportation for the two days then required to make the automobile trip.

Wilber came to know Max Kuehne well, when he crewed on his Star Boat, providing his own youthful eyesight when Max’s eyesight was declining but at a time when his fearlessness was not. One day in 1967, Max offered Wilber any painting he wanted from Max’s personal collection if he would repaint the trim in his studio. Wilber had other plans and headed off to Denmark for a year thinking he would do the work the next summer. Upon returning and learning that Max had sadly passed away, Wilber felt much remorse over losing his friend and missing the opportunity to own a Kuehne painting.

In 1996, Wilber received a call from a dealer friend, who told him about a great Max Kuehne that had just come on the market and, as one of Max’s best, would sell quickly at Hirschl & Adler in New York. It was a scene of Gloucester Harbor, painted from the vantage point of Banner Hill in 1919.

Fortuitously, Janet, now his fully authorized co-collector, was in New York and made a quick visit to the gallery. The price of this painting was a “lot of money to us.” But Janet confirmed that it was a “great Kuehne” and an important addition to the collection. She wrote the check, no co-sign needed. Coming Home!

Jane Peterson: Smith’s Cove, East Gloucester (Acquired 2008)

In the annals of early 20th century women artists, the life of Jane Peterson (1876-1965) is an epic tale of immense talent matched by equal courage. After finishing her formal education at Pratt Institute, she sought out the world, armed with a Baedeker travel guide. Jane journeyed alone to Cairo and Algiers, with her canvases and paint tubes, producing 87 paintings which comprised her first solo show and the launch of a fabled career. Her portfolio eventually included works produced during four summers on Cape Ann.

By 2008, with years of collecting, Wilber and Janet had developed shared art tastes, acquiring two Petersons, Algerian Souk and St. Mark’s Square. The couple was living in Palm Beach during the winter months and frequenting the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, although not buying due to dealers’ “high expectations.” They enjoyed visiting the show with two of their friends and collecting mentors, Peter and Paula Lunder, who were well known by dealers and warmly welcomed into booths. This gave Wilber and Janet, as unknown collectors, a chance to circumnavigate gallery holdings without drawing attention.

And then Peterson lightning struck. When Wilber and Janet entered one of the dealer’s booths, they both stopped in their tracks at the sight of an arresting Jane Peterson painting. It was also one of the artist’s early Gloucester paintings. Their friends the Lunders made eye contact, mutely signaling that this was “the one.” And then began the cat & mouse game with the gallerist and gatekeeper of the desired Peterson. After back-and-forth rounds and intermissions, with a final negotiation that included Wilber and Janet releasing a John Sloan painting plus cash, the Peterson was theirs and became one of the greatest treasures of The James Collection.

Their close friends the Lunders were also thrilled with the purchase as, in Wilber’s words, “There are few things that make a collector happier than witnessing a friend and fellow collector buy a great painting and paying dearly for the opportunity.”

Stuart Davis: Ten Pound Island (Acquired 2011)

Stuart Davis, *Ten Pound Island,* 1917. Oil on canvas (23x19 inches).

Stuart Davis (1892-1964), who was to become an important Modernist in the wider art scene, was part of an artists’ group working summers on Cape Ann, from 1915 through much of the 1920s. The now legendary group also included John Sloan, Charles Allan Winter, and Marsden Hartley, among others. Like many of the artists who came to Cape Ann, Davis participated in the local life. In a letter to his mother, Davis declared Gloucester “the place I had been looking for” and described a summer filled with “parties, liquor, lobster, and auto rides.” He was impressed by the diversity of humanity that gathered on the dock: “School boys, conductors, motormen, laborers, and even the man who owns the Savoy Hotel,” all carrying small bamboo fishing poles. The first exhibition at the North Shore Arts Association in 1923 showed 125 paintings by artists, including Stuart. There was no judge or jury, and paintings were hung alphabetically by last name.

In 2011, a 1917 Davis painting, Ten Pound Island, came to Wilber and Janet’s attention, via John Driscoll, their friend and gallerist, who sold them Kent’s First Snow. Driscoll described the painting as “a key work in the artist’s career, a harbinger of what was to come in his mature work in regard to color, compositional design, and planar structure. There is virtually nothing like it.” In October 2013, Janet and Wilber completed the transaction, which included the trade of another painting.

Having acquired an appreciation for Davis’s work, the couple was constantly on the lookout for another piece and achieved that goal with the purchase of Private Way, painted one year before Ten Pound Island, which clearly illustrates a defining moment in the evolution of Davis’s style, to his later Modernist period. Wilber and Janet were especially pleased that both Davis works were Coming Home.

Anna Hyatt Huntington: Diana of the Chase (Acquired 2017)

Anna Hyatt Huntington, *Diana of the Chase.* Modeled in 1922, Bronze (96 inches high).

Anna Vaughn Hyatt (1876-1973) grew up between the two local poles of academic Cambridge, where her father was professor of paleontology and zoology, and the artistic ambience of Cape Ann. It was on the Seven Acres estate in Annisquam where Anna first studied the characteristics of animals, subsequently creating small animal statues which she sold through stores such as Shreve, Crump & Low. She headed to New York to pursue an art career against all odds but found a cadre of other women artists. By the early 1900s her small statuettes were so popular that she was independently wealthy and was able to travel to the continent. When winning an Honorable Mention at the Paris Salon of 1910, for her large sculpture of Joan of Arc, the judges were dubious that a woman could create such a monumental sculpture and were reluctant to give the award. By 1926, she had acquired more than six awards. Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington eventually married the wealthy Archer Huntington, thus the full name by which the sculptor is known today.

Fast forward almost a century into the future, when, after receiving the Sotheby’s Fall 2017 catalogue, Janet and Wilber were stunned to see a listing for Anna Hyatt Huntington’s larger than life sculpture of Diana of the Chase, one of her most epic works. They were delighted that such a legendary piece could come up for auction and turned to their friend John Driscoll for background research and perhaps, to bid. John confirmed that it was one of the original six castings done at Kunst Foundry in New York, a fact that was not represented by the auction house. John was given their top price, plus two bidding rounds with which to “stretch.” The strategy succeeded and Diana became a cornerstone of the collection, and now resides at Cape Ann Museum, having been gifted in 2022.

Adolph Gottlieb: Untitled (Acquired 2021)

Adolph Gottlieb, *Untitled,* 1966. Oil and acrylic on paper (24x19 inches).

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) first came to Cape Ann on his honeymoon with Esther in 1932, with the couple returning to the area frequently, into the 1940s. He studied with John Sloan and became a close friend of Milton Avery, who made Gloucester his summer home. Gottlieb was fascinated by the everyday activities on Gloucester’s working waterfront and rendered a series of sketches that became the basis of future paintings. After about 13 years visiting Gloucester, his approach to art dramatically changed, with his eventual rise as one of this country’s prominent Abstract Expressionists.

In November 2021, Janet and Wilber were in New York to preview the American art auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams. As they approached Bonhams, a large poster of a Gottlieb painting advertising the upcoming auction caught their attention. Now operating as fully syncopated collectors, they simply looked at each other and without saying a word, knew that they would try to acquire the painting.

An obstacle was to arise. The auction would take place when the hopeful collectors would be on a flight to Dallas. For the first time in their collecting career, they would be unable to bid live. After conferring with the Bonhams vice-president and director of postwar and contemporary art, they decided to leave a bid. Once the auction became live, Janet and Wilber could observe the bidding in real time on Janet’s iPad from 40,000 feet aloft but could not participate. It became a high drama as bidders were approaching the James maximum. During a pause, the bidding seemed over and just short of the James bid. But then two more bids swept in, with one equaling the James bid. The auctioneer responded, “We already have that bid,” and no others followed. Still uncertain of whose bid had won, it was not until they landed in Dallas that they learned the Gottlieb had moved into The James Collection and was Coming Home.

The James Collection Legacy

The current exhibition at Cape Ann Museum is by no means an indicator that The James Collection is complete. Our two intrepid collectors continue their pursuit across the world of fine art, although with a much narrower focus on what may be missing from the story they hope the collection will tell. As Wilber commented during one of our discussions, “We are not finished,” with Janet adding, “We bought a painting three days ago.” COSMOS contained her curiosity, filing the information in the aspiration bin for a future installment, with new origin stories.

Theresa Bernstein at age 94 with Wilber, age 39, at the 1984 July Fourth parade in Rockport. Courtesy of Janet Knott.

While Janet and Wilber have had the joyful experience of living with these works of art, which fill their home on the ocean, they also express a sense of humility, seeing their roles as the temporary caretakers who are preserving the works for the Cape Ann community and beyond. They say:

We view the collection as a gathering of dear friends brought together over time. Recognizing that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, we have a deep wish to keep these pieces together rather than having them disperse and disappear into private hands. We felt that gifting the entire collection to the Cape Ann Museum is the best way to have them “Come Home”, to be shared with and enjoyed by Cape Ann’s residents and visitors. We recognize that we are not the owners, but rather the stewards of these works, and of the artists’ legacies.

Their great friend, the late John Driscoll, added additional perspective on the regional value of their gift to Cape Ann Museum:

In many cases the worst thing that can happen to a work of art is for it to enter a major museum’s collection, because so much of the art goes into the storage unit, never to be seen again. That’s where regional museums have such important work to do. They can give all of us something the big museums can’t – access to a dense visual regional culture at a very personal level.

At the heart of The James Collection, comprised of over 300 pieces, are works by artists who have been touched by Cape Ann. Because this region provided such a rich and diverse culture for these creative people, they flourished while working here, and are now widely acknowledged as producing some of the most significant art in American history.

For Wilber and Janet to gift their collection to the Cape Ann Museum is to preserve and teach current and future generations about the legacy of these artists, and to forever enliven one of the most intriguing, colorful, and celebrated histories and regions in the world of art. No more perfect story than this. Coming Home!

Wilber James has had an extensive career as an entrepreneur, founding multiple companies in the international energy sector as well as in banking and real estate. He serves as Trustee Emeritius of the Cape Ann Museum and the African Wildlife Foundation, is a Peace Corps alumnus (Kenya), and is a Board member of the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Janet James has a background in Finance and investment, both in banking and the private sector. She currently serves as Trustee of the Cape Ann Museum and is a Commissioner of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, as well as a Board member of the Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida.