The Open Door Donates Rare
Folly Cove Prints to Cape Ann Museum

GLOUCESTER – After discovering two rare Folly Cove prints were donated to its thrift store, Second Glance, The Open Door is gifting the pieces to the Cape Ann Museum.

“Every once in a while, our team discovers a donation that is far more than an amazing thrift find. Experts in local history and art, our team has a keen eye for the rare discoveries of historic value or priceless art that find their way to us,” President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “This is one of those cases, and our team felt strongly these should be donated to the Cape Ann Museum to preserve and showcase for generations to come.”

The prints, both placemats, include “Sea Horses and Shells” from 1949 and “Chickadees” from 1946, both by artist Hetty Beatty Whitney.

According to “The Folly Cove Designers Catalog,” re-issued by the Cape Ann Museum in 2023, Whitney was born in 1906 in New Canaan, CT and studied art at the Boston Museum School. She took lessons from Cape Ann sculptors Charles Grafly and George Demetrios, and under the name Hetty Burlingame Beatty also wrote and illustrated children’s books. She died in 1971.

The Cape Ann Museum has documented the existence of 335 Folly Cove Designs in its most recent 2023 Folly Cover Designers catalog, of which 328 are known and illustrated . The seven designs not shown and noted in the index as unavailable are not represented in the Museum’s collection and the Museum was unable to secure samples from other sources .“Sea Horses and Shells” was one of those seven undocumented prints until Second Glance, the thrift store of
The Open Door, made its recent discovery.

“The Cape Ann Museum is humbled by these meaningful Folly Cove donations to the collection by The Open Door,” said Museum Director, Oliver Barker. Barker shared that “The Museum is a true steward of the Folly Cove Designer legacy, frequently mounting exhibitions, permanent collection installations and publications to celebrate the group’s legacy. To this day the Folly Cove Designers as unique contributors to the art, life and culture of this community, provide
great inspiration for visitors and artists alike more than 50 years after the group disbanded.”

“It is important that these pieces are preserved for the community to enjoy for years to come,” said Evan Shay, Thrift Store and Outside Sales Assistant Manager at Second Glance. “The Folly Cove Designers have a very special place in Cape Ann History, and it is exciting that we were able to help expand the museum’s collection with this recent discovery.”

Additional Folly Cove prints of more popular designs will be available for sale at Second Glance’s upcoming Holiday Market on Saturday, December 7 from 9 am to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2 Pond Road. Sales at Second Glance support hunger-relief programs of The Open Door. Learn more at FOODPANTRY.org

“Having the unofficial title as being the “go to” person at Second Glance for things Folly Cove, I was both excited and delighted to see the heretofore unavailable “Sea Horses and Shells” by Hetty Betty Whitney,” said Kathie Groves, longtime volunteer at Second Glance. “The decision to gift this magnificent ‘find’ to the Museum is beyond spectacular!”

A longtime Folly Cove enthusiast, Shay sought a second and third opinion on the pieces from Groves and Andrew Spindler of Andrew Spindler Antiques and Design before The Open Door reached out to the Cape Ann Museum.

“The Cape Ann Museum is the center of research and exhibition of the Folly Cove designers, and this gift enriches that collection. There’s enormous public interest in the Folly Cove designers. Now these treasures, discovered at Second Glance, will be enjoyed by the public,” said Spindler.

About the Folly Cove Designers
From 1941 to 1969, the Folly Cove Designers were a group of 40 artists in the Folly Cove area of Cape Ann who carved designs into linoleum blocks and printed them on fabric. Most of them were married women, balancing their careers and actively raising children at home. The Folly Cove Designers earned national recognition and their work was featured at prominent museum exhibitions, periodicals, and their prints were purchased by department stores that reproduced
their designs. To learn more, visit the Cape Ann Museum’s website at capeannmuseum.org

About The Open Door
The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security. Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham. In 2023, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 9,836 people from 4,952 households through the distribution of 1.98 million pounds of food.

For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.

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