Albert H. Atkins

1880 - 1951

Albert Atkins (1880-1951) was a sculptor and printmaker born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He studied in Paris at both the Académie Julian and the Académie Colarossi, and later married Louise Allen Atkins, who was a talented sculptor in her own right. The pair settled in West Gloucester where they kept a studio and became avid collectors of antique furniture.

Atkins was an early exhibitor at the Gallery-on-the-Moors in East Gloucester, one of the city’s first public venues for artists, founded in 1916. He belonged to a number of art associations in both New York and Paris, and locally was a member of both the North Shore Arts Association and the Rockport Art Association.

In addition to his lifesize allegorical sculpture Spirit of the Sea on display in the Cape Ann Museum's courtyard, the Museum's collection also contains a number of Atkins' etchings, including one titled Under the Skylight which shows Spirit of the Sea in his studio.