Renovations have transformed what may once have been an ordinary house into a somewhat inscrutable composition, including two levels of completely windowless, clapboard-covered walls facing Bradford Street. Allison T. Cowan (b ±1867) and Marcia Muller (b ±1874) lived here in the early 1960s. They were followed by the painter Philip Roeber (1913-1997), as noted below by Paul Hastings. Roeber trained at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (subsequently renamed the San Francisco Art Institute). He came to paint in Provincetown in 1960 on a grant from the Lanning Foundation, worked at Ciro & Sal’s on the side, and spent winters in New York until 1968 when he bought this house from Dorothy S. Hornig. Roeber sold the property in 1983 to Ronald Costa and Robert J. Rockwell. He moved to Maine. The Provincetown Art Association and Museum held a retrospective exhibition of his work in 1981.
¶ Last updated on 3 January 2020.
261 Bradford Street on the Town Map.
Thumbnail image: Photo in 2012 by David W. Dunlap.
For further research online:
• Philip Roeber
“Phil Roeber: A Retrospective Exhibition,” Provincetown Art Association and Museum website (to purchase a catalog).
Philip Roeber on Artnet.
In the 1960s and ’70s, 261 Bradford Street was the home of painter Phil Roeber who trained at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Roeber came to paint in Provincetown in 1960 on a grant from the Lanning Foundation. He painted during the summers, working at Ciro and Sal’s Restaurant on the side, and wintered in New York City until 1968 when he bought a house at 261 Bradford Street. Roeber sold the house in the early ’80s and moved to Maine. PAAM held a retrospective exhibition of his work in July of 1981.
Thank you, Mr. Hastings, for this very informative addition, which I’ve also incorporated into the narrative text.