POST OFFICE MURALS

TODAY I CAME ACROSS A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE IN THE PALM BEACH POST ABOUT OUR VERY OWN POST OFFICE MURALS THAT WERE PAINTED BY WPA ARTISTS. HERE IS THE STORY FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE.

Read the full story here...

I just received a copy of the new Palm Beach Chamber Of Commerce Palm Beach Guide and Lo and Behold on the cover is a magnificent watercolor of Palm Beach by none other than Laura Woodward.The story is on page 208 of the guide.Ms. Woodward was a New York native who moved to St. Augustine Florida in the 1880's and moved to Palm Beach around 1890. She painted the local flora and fauna and sent the images back to ST. Augustine for sale. These paintings eventually caught the attention of Henry Flagler and the rest is Palm Beach History. More can be learned from another great book by Deborah Pollock titled "Laura Woodward:The Artist Behind The Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach" A must read for Florida Art collectors.

On Sunday March 29th the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Assoc. in West Palm Beach Fl. is having a home tour of the historic neighborhood. Included in the tour are two Bed and Breakfast, Casa Grandview and Grandview Gardens. Each of these facilities have about 10 vintage Highwaymen paintings on display for the home tour. A great way to enjoy historic homes and vintage Highwaymen art along with a meal and great music. I believe tickets are $30.00 in advance.

A Comeback Of Sorts

It has been quite some time since our last post. Many wonderful things have happened in the Florida Art world. A new book about Felix De Crano by Deborah Pollack was published. A couple of Highwaymen exhibits took place in West Palm Beach, put on by the Grassy Waters Preserve and the Grassy Waters Conservatory. Each was very well attended and informative. It does seem more and more people are educating themselves to the rich history of art that is unique to Florida. In future posts I will again give stories and examples of such art.

TOURIST SEASON IN FLORIDA

NOW THAT TOURIST SEASON IS ALMOST  UPON US HERE IN FLORIDA,I CANNOT HELP THINKING ABOUT ALL THE ARTIST WHO SERVED THE VISITORS OF THE CITIES IN FLORIDA.THE FIRST TO COME TO MIND WERE NONE OTHER THAN THE ARTIST WHO OCCUPIED THE SALONS OF HENRY FLAGLERS' HOTEL PONCE DE LEON IN ST. AUGUSTINE. YES THEY COULD BE CONSIDERED THE FIRST TOURIST ARTISTS HERE IN FLORIDA. THEY SUPPLIED THE GUEST AT THE HOTEL WITH MUCH NEEDED ENTERTAINMENT AS WELL AS A LITTLE REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR STAY IN THIS NEW TROPICAL PARADISE.SOME OF THESE ARTIST WERE QUITE FAMOUS ALREADY AND SOME NOT SO FAMOUS. ARTIST THE LIKES OF MARTIN JOHNSON HEADE, FRANK SHAPLEIGH,WILLIAM STAPLES DROWN,ROBERT GERMAN,ELLEN ROBBINS,FELIX DE CRANO,AND LAURA WOODWARD SOLD THEIR INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SCENES OF THE CITY AND SURROUNDING LANDSCAPES TO THE OCCUPANTS OF FLAGERS' HOTEL. THIS ALSO CARRIED ON TO PALM BEACH WHERE LAURA WOODWARD SET UP A STUDIO IN THE ROYAL POINCIANA HOTEL, ANOTHER FLAGLER HOTEL. THESE PAINTINGS PRODUCED BY THESE PIONEER ARTIST OF FLORIDA ENDED UP IN THE HOMES OF THOSE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO TRAVEL TO THESE HOTELS. LATER IN THE 30'S,40'S ,50'S ,60'S 70'S AND 80'S THE LIKES OF EMMETT FRITZ WERE PAINTING THE WONDERS OF ST. AUGUSTINE TO BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH OUT THE U.S. AND THE WORLD. IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE LIKE TAMPA AND ST. PETERSBURG OTHER ARTIST  WERE SERVICING THE TOURIST OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN THE 20'S AND 30'S. WITH THE NEW FOUND TRANSPORTATION MEANS OF THE AUTOMOBILE ,MORE AND PEOPLE WANTED TO EXPLORE THE BEAUTY OF THE TROPICS. THESE ARTIST INCLUDED E.G.BARNHILL AND W.C.ADDISON. BARNHILL NOTED FOR HIS GOLDTONE PHOTOGRAPHS AND HAND COLORED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS OF THE BEAUTIFUL FLORIDA SUNSETS AND GULF COAST SEASCAPES WAS A VERY POPULAR ARTIST IN HIS TIME. HE ALSO PRODUCED WATERCOLORS AND THE OCCASIONAL OIL PAINTING. W.C.ADDISON WAS VERY SKILLED AT PAINTING SMALL FLORIDA SCENES OF OIL ON WOOD WITH FLAMINGOS AND CYPRESS SWAMPS. THESE SMALL PAINTING WERE FRAMED IN A GESSO APPLIED ROPE LIKE DESIGN. FARTHER SOUTH IN THE MIAMI AREA WERE TWO TRANSPLANTED ARTIST FROM DETROIT. ALBIN BARANOWSKI AND MARTHA HELEN WILLIAMS CAME TO FLORIDA SOME TIME IN THE 40'S OR 50'S AND SET UP PAINTING IN THE MIAMI AREA. BARONOWSKI WAS SAID TO HAVE WORKED ON THE DESIGN FOR THE U.S. QUARTER RELEASED IN THE 30'S.THEIR WORK INCLUDES PAINTINGS OF FLORIDA RIVERS AND OCEANSCAPES WITH BRIGHT COLORS AND VIVID SUNSETS. AFTER  ALBINS DEATH MARTHA WILLIAMS MOVED TO FLORIDA  FULL TIME AND WAS ALSO SAID TO HAVE HAD A PAINTING SHOW ON EARLY TELEVISION. WE CANNOT FINISH WITHOUT  A MENTION OF THE HIGHWAYMEN . A GROUP OF ARTIST IN THE FT. PIERCE AREA NOTED FOR THEIR RENDITIONS OF THE COASTAL AND BACKCOUNTRY LANDSCAPES. ALTHOUGH THEY MAINLY SERVICED THE LOCAL HOME AND BUSINESS OWNER MANY OF THEIR OIL PAINTINGS ENDED UP ALL OVER THE U.S. AS REMINDERS OF THE BEAUTY OF AN AREA BEING LOST TO PROGRESS.THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE ARTIST WHO MADE THEIR LIVING BY SHARING WITH THE WORLD THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF FLORIDA. I KNOW THERE ARE MANY MORE . COLLECTING ART OF FLORIDA HAS MANY FACETS AND THE ART OF THESE AND OTHER TOURIST ARTIST SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

A couple of weeks ago on May 18th one of the Highwaymen ( a women) presented one of her landscapes to Michelle Obama at the First Lady's luncheon at the Congressional Club in Washington. This is a monumental occasion for the Highwaymen movement as well as recognizing a truly great women. Mary Ann Carroll began painting after witnessing Harold Newton painting a Royal Poinciana, after which she said she was hooked and continues to paint beautiful landscapes to this day. Congratulations go out to Mary Ann Carroll for commitment to her art and her community. Read the article from the Palm Beach Post here

THIS DAY IN 1913

On this day in May 1913 the world and especially Florida lost an important capitalist, pioneer and art benefactor. Henry Morrison Flagler died after a fall on the steps of his home Whitehall in Palm Beach Florida. Known for bringing the railroad to Florida from St. Augustine to Key West , Flagler was also a well known patron of the arts. As I have mentioned in a previous post Flagler not only brought  major hotels to St Augustine and Palm Beach but he provided salon space for the artist of Boston and Philadelphia and other northern cities to paint and sell their creations to the ever growing tourist population making their way to Florida. According to sources one such artist Laura Woodward traveled from St. Augustine to then sparsely populated Palm Beach and sent images back to Henry Flagler sparking his interest to explore this new potential paradise. With the construction of the Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach Flaglers' idea of paradise became a reality. All of Florida celebrates Flaglers' life and accomplishments and Florida art  collectors should not forget the wonderful contributions this man made to the advancement of the way artist documented the wonder and beauty that was Florida.