8 Commercial St

Historic District Survey information for 8 Commercial St

Architectural Description: 2-story 2 bays with hipped roof and hipped roof side ell; balustrade across ell roofline and 2nd-story windows of main section; large modern chimney on front of ell; first floor windows are paired and single with modern shutters. Second-story windows converted to sliding glass doors. Open wood porch with wood steps added to front of ell. A pool house addition has been constructed to the side of the ell and is now connected to the house.

Historical Narrative: As per Josephine Del Deo (1976) This is the residence and studio of the late painter Karl Knaths. Karl Knaths came to Provincetown in 1919 and he purchased this property soon afterwards. He came directly from the Art Institute of Chicago, but did not study in Provincetown with Charles Hawthorne. He was known as a "modernist" and post-Impressionist painter. His colorful canvases won him much fame beginning in about 1948. He is internationally recognized as one of American's leading painters m, and his home and studio were the mecca, for over fifty years of his life in Provincetown. Of many of the most serious and well-known figures in American painting. Karl Knaths and his wife Helen were solitary in the life style, however, and the painter pursues a quiet and dedicated painting schedule, broaching no interference. In 1974, a major retrospective of his work was organized and put on tour by Charles and Isabel Eaton. The complete complex of the Knaths home and studio, his two cabins used by himself and other painters as studios, and the rear cabin used by Tennessee Williams to write "The Glass Menagerie" could easily be placed in the category of National Landmark status. The interior of the home is exactly as Karl Knaths enjoyed it during his lifetime, and his wife Helen who celebrated her 100th birthday in July is still living there at this time. M32 HOUSE SUBSTNTIALLY ALTERED AND THEREFORE HISTORY SHOULD BE UPDATED

Text

Commercial Street (Provincetown, Mass.), Dwellings, and Historic Districts--Massachusetts--Provincetown

 (Mass. Historical Commission Form B)