Recent gifts to the collection are currently on display at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum’s Moffet Gallery from January 13 – April 29, 2012. The permanent collection is an important measure of a museum’s value. And PAAM’s holdings of local and regional art is extensive and dynamic, comprising over 2,400 works by 600 twentieth century and contemporary artists who have worked in Provincetown and on Cape Cod. Their styles are noteworthy in the history of American Art. The collection weaves together at least three major art movements— each a significant strand of American art history— and creates perspectives that uniquely position the Provincetown art colony as pertinent to the larger art world.
PAAM’s collection is at the foundation of many educational programs and exhibitions. Both the curating program and the fall art workshops make use of collection works to stimulate creativity. Thea credited courses take advantage of gallery exhibitions to clarify principles and techniques. And major museums and galleries borrow exemplary works for exhibitions. Embedded into PAAM’s mission, the collection is truly at the heart of our organization. A glance at The Permanent Collection catalog shows how many hundreds of people have been moved to express their generosity through contributions of virtually the whole collection. Amassed over an entire century, PAAM’s collection has been donated by people who really cared that the region’s art remain here.
PAAM, 460 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657 (on the corners of Commercial and Bangs Streets in Provincetown’s East End)
MUSEUM HOURS : October to May: Noon to 5 pm, Thursday through Sunday, and by appointment
Memorial Day to September: 11 am to 8 pm, Monday through Thursday | 11 am to 10 pm, Friday | 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday
OFFICE HOURS : 9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday | 9 am to 4 pm, Tues.–Sat., November through March