DENNIS — The plan in 2011 was to push the museum director out quietly, offering a severance deal and a cover story. But Elizabeth Ives Hunter, the executive director of the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis since 2003, didn’t want to go.

Instead, Hunter, 66 — known for her brassy personality, knowledge of Provincetown’s rich art history, and ability to keep the struggling museum afloat — hired a lawyer. She appeared to win, extending her tenure. Then, in July, she resigned.