The Albert Lowe Museum
"The Albert Lowe Museum" painting by Alton R. Lowe
New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay
Abaco, The Bahamas
My cousin Colin Lowe wrote the following piece many years ago. He also wrote some labels covering artifacts in the museum. Colin wrote for The Nassau Tribune after graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in journalism.
He wrote a number of stories that went along with my paintings for The Nassau Tribune. He currently lives between Amelia Island, FL and Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, and is now a grandfather! This painting was also used as a Bahamian postage stamp. - Alton
“The Albert Lowe Museum, the first historical museum in The Bahamas, was established in 1976 at New Plymouth on the island of the Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos. It stands as one of the first examples of early Bahamian architecture brought to the islands by Loyalists who fled the newly independent United States in 1783 from ports in the Carolinas and New York.
The museum occupies a wooden, two-story house built about 1825 for a prosperous businessman. Dormers jut from the steep cedar shingled roof. The beaded clapboards covering the sides of the house are of various widths, some over twenty-four inches wide. Painted the traditional white with green trim, the wide porch invites visitors to stop a moment to enjoy the salt air breezes. Behind the museum, in the garden, are the original outdoor kitchen and latrine. A cistern for storing water 'caught' from the roof and a cellar used now as a nautical exhibit area complete the establishment.
During its 201-year existence, the building has served not only as a private home, but also as a storehouse during the 'wrecking' period for goods salvaged from the sea, as offices over which flew the American flag when it was occupied by the Consul for the United States, as a library and, according to oral tradition, as a place where England’s future Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, stayed before purchasing a house when as a young man he lived and worked in the islands.
Today the Albert Lowe Museum charms visitors with a look back at Bahamian history. There are a number of artifacts from the days when the peaceful Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands. Other exhibits trace the arrival of the Loyalists and their various enterprises from cotton, to pineapples, to sisal growing, to shark fishing, to today’s highly successful crawfish industry and strongly tourist based economy. The rooms are large and pleasant. Ship models created by Albert Lowe himself are in the main exhibit area as are a number of historical subjects painted by his son, well-known artist Alton R. Lowe. Upstairs are two handsome, small bedrooms furnished in the early Victorian period style.
The museum, filled with over three hundred years of history, is a fitting memorial to the early Bahamian and Loyalist settlers and stands as a cultural landmark for all of The Bahamas." - Colin Lowe
The Albert Lowe Museum sustained damage in 2019 by Hurricane Dorian. Much progress has happened with the renovations and we are thrilled that the main room is open to the public along with a shop area for prints and other items. We would appreciate any donations to the GoFundMe account and please keep in mind that a few original paintings are available for purchase through private collectors. All have agreed to donate 10% of the sale price to the museum's renovation efforts.
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/a5903ab6
