The Provincetown Art Collection consists of artwork by local artists, as well as nationally prominent artists who have resided in town over the course of the last century, and includes paintings, sculpture and murals as well as prints and drawings. The Town's collection represents many fine examples from our own "art colony," an art community with the longest continuous history in the United States. The Collection has been amassed through gifts of artists or collectors. The Art Commission is always ready to consider a gift of art.

Charles Hawthorne is recognized as laying the foundation for art in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In 1899, Hawthorne opened the Cape Cod School of Art and several wonderful Hawthorne oils are in the town collection. For over a hundred years art and artists have constituted an important historic and economic sector in the community, a vital presence that continues into the twenty-first century. The town Art Collection represents remarkable and significant work by the artists listed in this data base. By browsing through this web site the visitor can gain a visual sense of the breadth and scope of the Provincetown Art Collection.