Tour an 18th century pig barn turned art studio and summer home on Nantucket

Greater Light is the vision of two artistic sisters nearly a century ago.

When two sisters from Philadelphia followed a herd of cattle up Nantucket’s Main Street in 1929, their discovery would impact generations to come.

Gertrude and Hanna Monaghan fell in love with an 18th century pig barn spotted during that fateful walk and transformed it into an art studio and summer home. They named it Greater Light and today visitors can tour the rooms full of eclectic belongings, spend time in the lush garden, and join art workshops. The property opened for the season on June 12 and there is no admission fee.

“It’s two real women with a vision and they make that vision happen and we’re still able to benefit from it,” said Michael Harrison, chief curator and research chair for the Nantucket Historical Association, which has owned and maintained the building since 1972.

Nantucket, located 30 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod, is known today for its beautiful beaches, quaint shops, and seaside restaurants. But it’s art that drew the Monaghan sisters, the children of Quakers, to the island nearly 100 years ago.

Gertrude was an acclaimed artist in Philadelphia and Hanna was an actress and writer. When a friend invited them to the island in 1923, they were smitten. They became members of the Nantucket Art Colony and lived in studio apartments for several summers before they bought the 1790 barn from the grocer. Greater Light would become their summer home for the next 40 years. Gertrude passed away in 1962 at age 75 and Hanna passed away in 1972 at age 83.

Hanna Monaghan’s book, “Greater Light on Nantucket, a Memoir,” captures how the sisters felt about their eclectic island retreat, where they created art and gathered with family and friends.

“I truly believe that art captures the eternal in the every day,” wrote Hanna. “And each day, as this house grew, the power of those ideas were assembling themselves like pieces in a puzzle. And now look at all the beauty we are surrounded by. So many precious objects collected over so many years from so many different places.”

Guests can tour the home, including the Great Room, patio, and garden where the sisters lived and entertained during summers on Nantucket. Hanna’s bedroom, with its built-in recess bed and bottle glass window, is just as she left it (Gertrude’s room didn’t survive the years of wear and tear). Six of Gertrude’s paintings hang on the walls.

“They both really valued color and texture and the handmade,” Harrison said. “The house is decorated with things they collected, mostly in and around Philadelphia. The stuff that they bought often had carved elements or hand-stitched elements. The hand of the craftsman is everywhere.”

There are decorative items, textiles, and furniture on display, Harrison said. Visitors can check out everything from Chinese porcelain to golden pillars to an enormous armored chest from the 17th century. There’s also a rug from the southwest gifted by their brother and massive 12-foot-tall wrought iron gates the sisters found in a junkyard and shipped to Nantucket from Philadelphia, Harrison said.

“They set up and frame this experience between the garden and the interior of the house,” he said. “A shingled barn with classic revival iron gates connecting to the garden. You just don’t see that here and that’s part of what is delightful about it.”

Community groups and wedding parties use the property, he said, which was renovated by the Nantucket Historical Society in 2012.

“The space lends itself to setting up an intimate dinner or having a little art show in the house and lecture and hors d’oeuvres outside with tables. It’s a really beautiful setting,” Harrison said.

This summer, the Nantucket Historical Association is bringing in craftspeople to teach historic arts and crafts, Harrison said, such as glass bead making, sewing, and iron forging.

“We want to continue the spirit of what they had,” he said.

Greater Light is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sept. 1. Looking for more things to do on Nantucket? Check out our guide: 5 things to do on Nantucket.

Editor’s note: In the coming months, Boston.com will be featuring historical sites around Greater Boston as chosen by staff and suggested by readers. Enter your suggestion in the form below.