Loretta Feeney.com

If you type in your web browser www.capecodschoolofart.com -it goes straight to Lois Griffel’s Arizona web site.

The Cape Cod School of Art was an important little school in Provincetown. It was founded by Charles Hawthorne in 1899. He is really credited with Cape Cod Massachusetts and Provincetown in particular becoming a world class art colony for students, artists, writers and collectors of art.

He passed the school on to Henry Hensche who carried on the teachings at the Pearl Street location for many, many years. I had the opportunity to study with Hensche in the summer of 1983. I also had the opportunity to meet at their home with him, and his wife Ada Raynor also an artist to talk about art and see how they lived and worked.

It was a wonderful summer school though by the time I got there Hensche was old and was not very active, at least with the new students. But I was there for a little while and before that I had studied with Sam Barber at his Hyannis studio, Barber a longtime Hensche student had encouraged my study in Provincetown. I am grateful to all my teachers.

Shortly after my time with Hensche I had heard stories that the school was to be left to one of his students to carry on the Hawthorne tradition. Lois Griffel was chosen to keep the school going in Provincetown, and she did for a few years. I heard good things and saw her one foggy morning with a group of students up in Maine on Monhegan Island in the 1990′s.

So I know living in the Mid Cape, I am out of the Provincetown loop a bit.

Because I was flabbergasted yesterday while in Provincetown to hear that it was old news that Louis Griffel gave up the school, sold the property and left the area for good several years ago.

That school should never have been allowed to fail and for that property to have been sold to developers.

I wonder what happened? Maybe nothing happened.

The Provincetown dealer I was talking with is very knowledgeable of all Hensche students over the years, and we both agreed that there had to be one hundred students that would have loved to take that school over and keep it going for future generations of art students, and keep it in Provincetown.

We need to be aware of the things on Cape Cod that make it special and preserve them and build on them.

Not sell out. Especially a Fine Art tradition in the truest sense. The Cape Cod School of Art’s demise, what a great loss to all of us.

Just remember…

www.capecodschoolofart.com

brings you right to Louis Griffel’s Arizona studio where I am sure she has a desert painting to sell you.