FROM THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE FALL 2009
SPECIAL ISSUE! YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO:
PAINTINGS OF FLORIDA 1865-1965 FROM THE COLLECTION OF CICI AND HYATT BROWN
contents vol. 29 no. 3
THE FLORIDA DREAM page 24
on the cover N. C. Wyeth, Dance of the Whooping Cranes, ca. 1938 From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown
4
FROM THE DIRECTOR
8
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
9
VOLUNTEER OF THE QUARTER
10
REFLECTIONS
16
SUMMER EXHIBITIONS & CALENDAR SECTION
22
IN MEMORIAM JOHN C. ALLEN, JR.
24
THE FLORIDA DREAM THE PONCE DE LEON HOTEL 1880-1967
28
GUILD NEWS
32
THE LURE OF THE EXOTIC FLORIDA’S 19TH CENTURY TOURISTS
FROM THE DIRECTOR Dear Friends, The past six months have been a challenging time for the Museum since we lost over 20,000 square feet of space to flooding last May. We have been hard at work serving the public and providing the best possible experience for our guests and members, while at the same time working on making sure the problems with the West Wing are permanently resolved.
Our thanks go out to Congressman John Mica who has shepherded the Museum through the channels at FEMA, as well as our other officials who have pledged their support, especially Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey, Volusia County Council Chairman Frank Bruno, Representative Dwayne Taylor and Senator Evelyn Lynn.
You may know that this is the fourth time the West Wing has taken on water in the past ten years. This section of the museum, based on a design from the late 1960s, is built approximately thirty inches below current code requirements. One of our solutions is to demolish the damaged area, rebuilding at current code and using “green” elements to make this the most environmentally friendly construction to date at the Museum. The Board of Trustees is looking at this as well as other options.
In other exciting news, we will be breaking ground soon for the new Helene B. Roberson building which will house the Visible Storage Center. After the flooding, this wonderful project was placed on hold while we evaluated site conditions. It was determined that the location would remain as originally planned off the Bouchelle Gallery, and our architects are finalizing details. This new area will not only serve as additional collections storage, but it will also provide exhibition space for the museum’s Napoleonic collection while offering unique educational opportunities and a behind the scenes glimpse of the working Museum.
This new facility would house a Planetarium/ Science Theatre, Mary Louise Marzullo Gallery, Karshan Center of Graphic Arts, Cuban Museum, Elaine and Thurman Gillespy, Jr. Gallery, Center for Florida History, Helena and William Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art, and more. Offices previously located in the West Wing could be moved into the area now serving as the Schulte Gallery ensuring that all administrative offices are in one location and that the Museum’s international collections, Cuban, Chinese and African, are located in one wing of the Museum. This area will also provide space to expand the café, store and member’s lounge.
Top: Wayne Atherholt, Cici Brown, Congressman John L. Micah Bottom: Wayne Atherholt, Gordon Lewis examine artwork after May 2009 flooding
4 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
While funding for this project would come largely from FEMA, it is necessary that we seek additional support for completion. An application will be made to Volusia County’s ECHO program as well, yet both of these funding sources require a cash match from the Museum. This certainly will not be the easiest thing to accomplish; however, I believe this is the best possible solution to a recurring problem and the right thing to do for the community. As plans are finalized, regardless of what route we take, you will be asked to help us in our campaign to raise capital for this exciting project, and we hope you will respond to the need. The end result for you will be a rebuilt West Wing with all the galleries and exhibits you know and love enhanced with new technological features, environmentally friendly elements, and a dynamic new layout – and, if all goes to plan, a few really exciting surprises!
In the meantime, we remain open with the most exciting exhibition we have done in years, Reflections: Paintings of Florida from 1865-1965 from the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown, opening November 21. You will find many wonderful events associated with this exhibit listed in the calendar section of this magazine, and we urge you to take advantage of the opportunities available at your museum. This exciting process of rebuilding serves to remind us that every cloud really does have a silver lining. Thank you for joining us as we continue to find better ways to serve our community at the Museum of Arts and Sciences. Sincerely,
George W. Seavey, Chrysanthemums, 1899
2009 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HONORARY TRUSTEES
MAJOR SPONSORS
Deborah B. Allen, President Barbara Coleman, Vice President Cici Brown, Past President Barbara Young, Assistant Vice President Julie Freidus, Assistant Vice President Allison L. M. Zacharias, Secretary Christine Lydecker, Treasurer Dr. Kim Klancke, Assistant Treasurer Thomas Hart, Legal Advisor Bill Rambo, Representative Rabbi Barry Altman Daniel Ambrose Melinda Dawson Grosklos Dr. Donald Keene Dr. Thurman Gillespy, Jr. Forough Hosseini Harvey Morse Ellen O’Shaughnessey Carol Lively Platig Diane Welch Terrence White Linda Williams Andrew Young Thomas Zane
Miriam Blickman Anderson Bouchelle (Deceased) J. Hyatt Brown Alys Clancy (Deceased) Tippen Davidson (Deceased) Susan Feibleman Herbert Kerman Chapman Root (Deceased) Jan Thompson (Deceased)
GOLD AT&T Real Yellow Pages ® Brown & Brown, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. J. Hyatt Brown Thomas and Peggie Hart Stuart and Lisa Sixma Travel Host Magazine WDSC Channel 15 Zgraph, Inc.
REPRESENTATIVES
SILVER Benedict Advertising Daytona International Speedway Encore Catering of Central Florida Dr. and Mrs. Thurman Gillespy, Jr. Halifax Community Health Systems NASCAR ®
Executive Director Emeritus, Gary R. Libby Wayne D. Atherholt
Museum Guild JoAnne Eaton-Morriss, President Junior League Amy Warkowski Cuban Foundation Gary R. Libby Root Foundation John Root
BRONZE Bahama House Best Western Aku Tiki Inn Cobb & Cole Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Daytona Beach Consolidated Tomoka Land Co. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida Hospital Ormond Memorial Guild of the Museum of Arts and Sciences Hilton Garden Inn Houligan’s - A Spirited Sports Grill Dr. and Mrs. Kim Klancke Gary R. Libby Mercedes-Benz of Daytona Beach David and Toni Slick Trustees of the Museum of Arts and Sciences University of Central Florida
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND SCIENCES The Museum of Arts and Sciences is a not-for-profit educational institution, chartered by the State of Florida in 1962 and accredited by the American Association of Museums. Museum collections and research include Cuban and Florida art, American Fine and Decorative Arts, European Fine and Decorative Arts, pre-Columbian and African artifacts, Pleistocene fossils, Florida history and regional natural history. Permanent and changing exhibitions, lectures, classes, and museum trips highlight educational programs. The museum houses changing arts and sciences exhibition galleries, permanent collection galleries, a gallery of American art, paintings, decorative arts and furniture, a Prehistory of Florida wing, Cuban Fine and Folk Art Museum, a planetarium, library, the Frischer Sculpture Garden, maintains nature trails in a 90-acre preserve in adjacent Tuscawilla Park, and operates a Historic House Museum on a 150-acre preserve.
WAYNE DAVID ATHERHOLT Executive Director Administration Staff PATTIE PARDEE, Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director Christina Lane, Marketing and Communications Director Eric Goire, Operations Director Bonnie L. Tremblay, Membership and Volunteer Coordinator Linda Ippolito, Finance and Human Resource Manager
Major museum programs and activities for members, school children and the general public are supported by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an agency of the Federal Government; the National Endowment for the Arts; Florida Arts Council, Division of Cultural Affairs and Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State; the Volusia County School Board; the Guild of the Museum of Arts and Sciences; and the Junior League of Daytona Beach, Inc.
Israel Taylor, Physical Plant Assistant Dan Maynard, Maintenance Lydia Kennedy, Bookkeeper Marge Sigerson, Librarian Patricia Cournoyer, Visitor Services Coordinator JENNIFER GILL, Visitor Services James Alford, Security MARK HART, Security Dominick Ustica, Security
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. THE TOLL FREE NUMBER IS 1.800.435.7352. The Museum of Arts and Sciences is committed to the Americans with Disabilities Act by making our facility and programs accessible to all people. If you have any special requirements, suggestions, or recommendations, please contact our representative, Wayne D. Atherholt, at 386.255.0285. If you prefer, you may contact the Volusia County Cultural Advisory Board representative at 386.257.6000, or the Division of Cultural Affairs, The Capitol, Tallahassee 850.487.2980, or TT 850.488.5779. If you do not receive a reply within two weeks, you are encouraged to call the Division of Cultural Affairs in Tallahassee.
MARK LINSKENS, Security Curatorial Cynthia Duval, Chief Curator and Curator of Decorative Arts James “Jay” Williams, Gary R. Libby Curator of Art J.”Zach” Zacharias, Senior Curator of Education and Curator of History
The Museum of Arts and Sciences is recognized by the State of Florida as a major cultural institution and receives major funding from the State of Florida through the Florida Department of State, the Florida Arts Council, the Division of Historical Resources and Division of Cultural Affairs.
Arts & Sciences is published quarterly by the Museum of Arts & Sciences, 352 S. Nova Road, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114, telephone 386.255.0285, web site www.moas.org. Income from contributors helps offset a portion of the expense involved in the production of this publication. ADVERTISING INQUIRIES All inquiries regarding advertising should be directed to Nerve Marketing at (386) 257-3030 or rhonda@nervemarketing.com. 6 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
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BETTY TURCO, Visitor Services
MUSEUM HOURS: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sundays
Luis Zengotita, Children’s Museum Coordinator Seth Mayo, Planetarium and Group Tour Coordinator Eric Mauk, Collections Manager and Registrar Bonnie Jones, Conservator – Paintings Ed Van Hoose, Conservator – Furniture
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS By Bonnie Tremblay, Membership & Volunteer Coordinator
On August 6th, MOAS members celebrated the opening of three new children’s exhibits in the Charles and Linda Williams Children’s Museum. The Early Learning Play Center is a dedicated space for infants and toddlers, the Crime Scene Investigation exhibit allows children of all ages to explore basic forensic investigation, and the Oceanariums Bubble Keyboard connects music with light. As we continue to grow, your investment in museum membership is more valuable than ever before. Your membership also allows you to preview new exhibits and includes invitations to special members-only events.
MEMBERSHIP LEVELS AND FEES $ 20.00 $ 25.00 $ 30.00 $ 35.00 $ 60.00 $ 100.00 $ 125.00 $ 250.00
Student Senior Citizen Single Single Senior Citizen Couple Family (up to 2 adults and children in same household) Family Plus (up to 4 adults and children in same household) Friend of MOAS Corporate
RENAISSANCE SOCIETY LEVELS AND FEES $ 200.00 $ 500.00 $ 1,000.00 $ 5,000.00 $10,000.00
Galileo Copernicus Michelangelo DaVinci Medici Lifetime Membership (one time donation)
Joan Jacobs Volunteer of the Quarter Joan lived in Franklin Lake, New Jersey before moving to Daytona Beach in 1980 to join her family. During her first 6 months in Florida, Joan volunteered at the Daytona Beach YMCA and began taking classes at Daytona Beach Community College. Joan enjoyed college so much that she continued her education attending night classes at UCF where she earned her Masters Degree in Public Administration. Through her volunteer position at the YMCA, Joan began a 20 year career there which eventually led her to become the Executive Branch Director. Joan, along with another co-worker, began the Big Brother, Big Sister and Black Achievement programs during her tenure. Volunteering seemed a natural transition after retiring from the private sector in 2007, and MOAS was her first choice. Joan noted that, “As a volunteer at MOAS, I have met wonderful people doing great work. Being a small part of the success of the museum is very rewarding and allows me to give back to a community that has provided so many opportunities to me.” In her spare time, Joan enjoys golf, the beach, reading, and attending art classes.
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ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 9
EXHIBIT FEATURE
Reflections: PAINTINGS OF FLORIDA 1865-1965 From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown By Jay Williams, Gary R. Libby Curator of Art
This special exhibition of sixty-nine paintings from the collection of two of the museum’s strongest supporters, Cici and Hyatt Brown, centers on Florida as seen through the eyes of some of America’s most important painters. Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865 – 1965, From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown will open to the public on November 21 with a ticketed opening reception. This special exhibition of sixty-nine paintings from the collection of two of the museum’s strongest supporters, Cici and Hyatt Brown, centers on Florida as seen through the eyes of some of America’s most important painters. The Brown collection is the result of an intensive collecting effort that began in 1997 with the acquisition of two 19th-century watercolor views of St. Augustine, America’s oldest city. As the couple continued to acquire a wide range of important paintings, they envisioned creating the quintessential record of historic Florida. Going to great lengths to locate exceptional views of Florida’s beaches, rivers, swamps, and farmlands,
the Brown’s holdings grew to include an array of rare and unusual works, such as the meditative St. John’s River Sunset with Alligator by Martin Johnson Heade (see pg. 33), memory paintings by Frederick Carl Frieseke in an almost postimpressionist style, and a figurative canvas by Thomas Hart Benton. These and many other breathtaking paintings will lead museum visitors to understand why the Brown’s is considered the most significant collection of Florida-based art. While beautifully expressing the uniqueness of Florida, Reflections transcends the usual limitations of regional art. Not only do the paintings represent an extraordinary level of quality, but they also demonstrate the importance of Florida as a location where artists drew inspiration from the lush landscape over a sustained period. Gary Rus-
continued on next page Frederick Carl Frieske; The Pirogue, 1926 10 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 11
Cornflower blue and white sapphire ring set in white gold
Herman Herzog, 1832 - 1932; The Fox, Near Gainesville, ca. 1910 sell Libby, Director Emeritus of the Museum of Arts and Sciences, has established the significance of this group of artists in the encyclopedic catalogue that accompanies the show. Dubbed by Libby the “Florida School,” these artists - like the realist and impressionist painters associated with other unique geographic regions such as coastal California, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Appalachian Pennsylvania, or Taos, New Mexico - make us aware that America’s core identity is closely linked to its landscape and social history. Just as all Americans take pride in artistic “ownership” of the art of California coast or the canyon country of the Southwest, these paintings of old Florida comprise an essential part of our shared natural and artistic heritage.
“Not only do the paintings represent an extraordinary level of quality, but they also demonstrate the importance of Florida as a location where artists drew inspiration from the lush landscape over a sustained period.” The earlier painters in Reflections share a particularly close tie to the Hudson River School. (In art history, the term “school” does not mean a place where students are taught, but, rather, a group of painters who share a common style, subject matter, or working location.) The movement rose to prominence during the era when the United States was creating its identity. During the first half of the nineteenth century, these artists responded to the challenge by developing a body of work that was distinctively American. They also saw the nation’s landscape, especially its wilderness, as a sublime (awe-inspiring) reflection of God’s glory. Originally centered on rural areas of New York State, Hudson River School artists later painted wherever they found unspoiled natural beauty. Not limited to northeastern areas such as the White Mountains of New Hampshire, many of these painters also sought out the rivers and coastlands of Florida, among them Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), John Bunyan Bristol (1826-1909), George Henry Smillie (1840-1921), and Milton H.
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ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 13
Lowell (1848-1927) - all represented in the Brown Collection. Their paintings are optimistic expressions of nature’s grandeur during a period that also saw the expansion of the railroads and growth of industry. The value of the wild places documented in American art became increasingly obvious as industrialization gained momentum. The first national park, Yellowstone, was established in 1872, as the later painters of the Hudson River School were reaching the height of their popularity. Before the youngest of these artists had passed away, the nation had established, in 1916, a system of forty national parks and monuments. Some of the most notable painters of the American West -- such as the Brown collection’s Frank Shapleigh (1842-1906), Charles Christian Eisele (1854-919), and Herman Herzog (1832-1932) found and preserved in their art equally exotic subjects in Florida.
Ernest Lawson, Approaching Storm, Matheson Hammock, Coral Gables, Florida, ca. 1930 David Davidovich Burliuk, Fishing Station, Sarasota, Florida, ca. 1964
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many American painters blended impressionism with realism to produce a hybrid style. In their impressionist landscapes, painters such as Frederic Carl Frieseke, Winfield Scott Clime, Ernest Lawson, Anthony Thieme, Emile Gruppé, and Franz Josef Bolinger interpreted the effects of light in a poetic style that retained an air of romanticism. Many of the locations depicted in the paintings of these artists were preserved because of their historic importance and natural beauty (such as Lawson’s Matheson Hammock, which became one of the oldest public parks in Florida). Some of the most outstanding artists in Reflections do not fit neatly under a single stylistic label. For example, the
continued on page 22
As America gained wealth and power between the Civil War and World War I, wealthy collectors sought to emulate the standards of art and culture set by Europe. During this period, often called the Gilded Age, artists increasingly sought opportunities to study with masters of the European academies of art. While abroad, American artists studied the conservative academic approach to painting, while also becoming aware of new trends, especially Impressionism as expressed in the work of Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and their contemporaries. Although some scholars have argued that impressionism in America represents a break with the tradition of the Hudson River School,
ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 15
MUSEUM OF ARTS & SCIENCES
The Best of the Best: Purchase Awards From the Halifax Art Festival 1980-2008 Now - October 24, 2008 Chapman S. Root Hall Ringling Retro: Selections of Modern and Contemporary Works of Art from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Now - October 25, 2009 Edward E. and Jane B. Ford Gallery Cuban Foundation Collection of The Museum of Arts and Sciences Re-Opening October 2, 2009 The Anderson C. Bouchelle Cpur
fall Pre Revolutionary Cuba October 30, 2009 - May 15, 2010 Chapman S. Root Hall Florida Landscapes from the Brown Collection Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865 – 1965 From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown November 20, 2009 – May 17, 2010 Edward E. and Jane B. Ford Gallery
exhibits
FA L L 2 0 0 9 C A L E N D A R
October October 13 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Science Chaos
1:30-3:00pm Discover the science of physics and learn just how much fun science can be! $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
October 15 9-13 Year Old Science: Crime Scene Investigation
1:30-3:00pm Learn about fingerprints, hair fibers and DNA and discover how detectives use these tools to solve real-life crimes! $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
October 20 MOAS Guild Meeting
10 am Marshall Frank, author and violinist, will discuss “Converting Real Crime into Fiction.” Guild meetings are free and open to the general public.
October 20 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Fossil Factory
1:30-3:00pm Check out the museum’s awesome collection of fossils and learn about the ancient animals that once roamed Florida. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
October 22 7-8 Year Old Science: Motion Commotion
1:30-3:00pm Discover the science of force and motion as you build your own contraption to prove the laws of physics. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
October 24 Night of the Paranormal: A Night of Mystery and Magic 5:30-10pm (Please RSVP) $7 for members or $10 for nonmembers
October 27 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Lost in Space
1:30-3:00pm Learn about astronauts, planets and stars as you discover the vast world of astronomy. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
October 29 9-13 Year Old Science: Experimentation
1:30-3:30pm Use the scientific method while working on a wide range of experiments. Make predictions and conclusions and learn about dependent and independent variables. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
16 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
T U R O A LL ND N PU LE TIO CA EC
MUSEUM OF ARTS & SCIENCES
November November 3 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Crazy Art
1:30-3:00pm There is no limit or rules to the art you can create in this class. Go crazy! $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
November 4 Teacher Open House
5:00pm-7:00pm Join the MOAS team of educators and discover the new hands-on exhibits in the Charles and Linda Williams Children’s Museum. This not-to-be-missed program is free to all teachers with a valid teacher ID. Please call 386.255.0285 to register.
November 5 7-8 Year Old Science: Fantastic Physics
1:30-3:30pm Learn about pulleys, air pressure, motion, electricity and more. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
November 7 & 8 MOAS Tent at the Halifax Art Festival: Teach Green
Sponsored by Bright House Networks 10:00am - 3:00pm Family tent activities will include conservation projects focusing on the wise use of water, the responsible use of electricity, recycling, and creating “Found Art”. Free to the general public
November 7 & 8 47th Halifax Art Festival
9am to 5pm Located on Beach Street at Riverfront Park, the Halifax Art Festival will feature 250 artists, Pet Parade, Children’s Booth, Live Music, and Vendors. www.HalifaxArtFestival.com Free and open to the general public
November 10 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Ponce Inlet Naturalist
1:30-3:00pm Join us at the Ponce Inlet Pavilion to learn about the beach, the shells, the animals and the plants that inhabit this unique ecosystem. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers, please call 386.255.0285 to register
November 12 9-13 Year Old Science: Block Party – Lego Creation
1:30-3:30pm Learn about architecture and the science of structures. Build a structure out of Legos based on the principles of physics. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
November 14 Homeschool Open House
11:00am-3:00pm If you are a homeschool parent or child, you won’t want to miss this special day! Come see the new Charles and Linda Williams Children’s Museum, explore the new hands-on exhibits and learn about our fall lineup of homeschool classes. Cost is $5 per family; please call 386.255.0285 to register.
FA L L 2 0 0 9 C A L E N D A R
November 17 MOAS Guild Meeting
10:00am Dr. Carl Lentz will discuss “Effects of Climate on the Skin and Non-Invasive Forms of Intervention.” Guild meetings are free and open to the general public.
November 17 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Spruce Creek Pontoon Boat Excursion
1:30-3:00pm Meet at Gamble Place to join us for a tour of the beautiful Spruce Creek River and discover nature at its best. *This class will be held offsite at Gamble Place.* $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers, please call 386.255.0285 to register
November 19 7-8 Year Old Science: Multimedia Mania
1:30-3:30pm Discover computer graphics and sound as you create your own digital media. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
November 23 Festival of Lights Preview Champagne Gala
6:00-9:00pm Trees and decorations for sale. Tickets include food and entertainment. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the museum. Reservations requested by November 16th.
November 24 Festival of Lights
Designer holiday tree displays and silent auction Free to members or with paid admission
December December 1 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: George Washington – The Great One
1:30-3:00pm Learn about America’s most important president and see the museum’s collection of historic Washington portraits. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
December 3 9-13 Year Old Science: Our Galaxy
1:30-3:30pm Use the museum’s new Radio Telescope to discover the wonders of the Milky Way! $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
December 5 Bright House Customer Appreciation Day
9:00am-5:00pm Museum admission is free for all Bright House customers with a current bill and identification.
December 5 Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus
10:00am-5:00pm Photos with Santa and holiday treats for sale.
M U S E U M O F A R T S & S C I E N C E S FA L L 2 0 0 9 C A L E N D A R
Photos and treats will be individually priced.
December 6 Annual Dinner
5:30pm Held at the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club. Member invitations forthcoming.
December 8 MOAS 4-6 Year Old Preschool: Holiday Extravaganza! 1:30-3:00pm Join us for holiday music, food, and crafts. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
December 10 7-8 Year Old Science: Water World
1:30-3:30pm Learn about our most precious ecosystem - the ocean - and discover the properties of water. $10 for members or $15 for nonmembers
December 17 Meet the Curators: Coffee, Chocolates and Collections
2:00-3:00pm Join Jay Williams, Gary R. Libby Curator of Art, for a discussion session to learn about the museum’s exciting new exhibition Reflections. Free to members or with paid admission
Save the Date! January 15, 16, and 17
A Weekend of Reflections: A Symposium Co-hosted by Harold Closter, Director of Smithsonian Affiliations $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers, or $10 with student ID Friday 5:00pm: Welcome reception, meet and greet the collectors, Cici and Hyatt Brown Saturday 10:00am: Coffee and welcoming remarks by Harold Closter, Wayne D. Atherholt, and Cynthia Duval 10:15am: An introduction and Overview of the Cici and Hyatt Brown Collection; with Gary R. Libby, Executive Director Emeritus of the Museum of Arts and Sciences 11:30am: Historical Florida Painting and the Hudson River School; with Kevin J. Avery, Curator, Department of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3:15pm: Southern Romanticism and Historical Florida Painting; with Jay Williams, the Gary R. Libby Curator of Art at the Museum of Arts and Sciences 2:00pm: Reflections of Florida’s Natural History; with Rudolph Mancke, Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina, School of the Environment Sunday 11:00am: Gallery Presentation with Jay Williams 2:00pm: Gallery Presentation with Gary R. Libby
“Reflections” continued from pg. 15
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IN MEMORIAM John C. Allen Jr. John C. Allen, Jr., 59, passed away peacefully at home on June 14, 2009 with his family beside him. John waged a courageous fight with cancer for almost five years. He is now without pain. Born in Coral Gables, Florida on February 1, 1950 to John C. Sr. & Carolyn Allen, John graduated from Coral Gables High School in 1968, where he served as student body president. After high school, John attended the University of Florida, where he graduated with honors. While at the University, he served as President of his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. He also served in student government, was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and ROTC. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt. upon graduation. After six months of active duty, John returned to the University of Florida to attend Law School. While at law school, he met Debbie Bornmann of Daytona Beach, who would in 1977 become his wife. After graduation from law school in 1975, John practiced law in Miami until 1988. While in Miami, he was elected President of the Young Lawyers section of the Dade County Bar and served in a JAG unit of the Army Reserves for eight years. John and his family moved to Ormond Beach in 1988. John practiced law in Volusia County until he could no longer do so due to his health. He was a very community minded individual and a graduate of Leadership Daytona. His involvement included being a member of the Board of Halifax Urban Ministries and serving as its President. John was also a past President of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Volusia County Gator Club. Joining the Rotary Club of Port Orange/South Daytona, John served as the Club President and later served district 6970 (all of NE Florida) as Rotary District President. His association with Rotary brought many wonderful friends into his life. At the time of his passing, he was an honorary member of the Daytona Beach Rotary. One of the great joys of his life was his son, Johnathan. He enjoyed participating in his son’s activities and talking with his friends. He served as an assistant coach for flag football and as Vice President of the Seabreeze High School football boosters. He could also be found from time to time with Johnathan and friend, Andy on the golf course. John loved Motown music and his beloved Florida Gators. He was well traveled and loved going abroad with Debbie.
22 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
3635 Clyde Morris Blvd., Suite 600 Port Orange (Located At The Surgery Center of Volusia) George Innes, Jr. Fishing Near Tarpon Springs, 1917
Museum of Arts & Sciences Planetarium Program Sponsored by:
work of George Inness, Jr.’s Fishing Near Tarpon Springs (1917) and Herman Herzog’s The Fox, Near Gainesville (ca. 1910) perfectly match their timeless subject matter. These canvases seem to beckon the viewer to escape into their airy light-filled space. Reflections also includes important examples of American scene painting and modernist realism (such as Carl Austen’s Pier and Bathers at St. Augustine Beach, 1943, and David Burliuk’s Fishing Station, Sarasota, Florida, ca. 1964), later representational styles that incorporated some elements of expressionism and abstraction. Whatever their specific style or subject matter, the distinguished paintings presented in Reflections offer visitors a unique opportunity to travel back in time to old Florida’s golden age. The exhibition will continue in the Ford Gallery through May 17, 2010. h
Don’t miss Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865 – 1965, From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown November 21 - May 17! ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 23
ST. AUGUSTINE FEATURE
The Florida Dream
THE PONCE DE LEON HOTEL 1880-1967
Antonio M. Vedovelli (18681958); Ponce de Leon Hotel
“Of the several lyrical paintings of views of St. Augustine in the
Post Card from 1919 showing courtyard and main entrance
By Cynthia Duval, Chief Curator
Of the several lyrical paintings of views of St. Augustine in the exhibition Reflections, the 1940’s painting of the Ponce de Leon Hotel by Antonio M. Vedovelli (1868-1958), with its flat simplistic forms and singing color perhaps represents the Florida Dream of the late 19th century better than any other painting of St. Augustine in the exhibition. It was an era of bustling land development and railroad entrepreneurship following the Civil War; a golden time of American inventiveness, when the U.S. patents office granted more than one million patents.
exhibition Reflections, the 1940’s painting of the Ponce de Leon Hotel by Antonio M. Vedovelli (1868-1958), with its flat simplistic forms and singing color perhaps represents the Florida Dream of the late 19th century better than any other painting of St. Augustine in the exhibition.”
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The Ponce de Leon was the brain child of Henry Morrison Flagler (1830-1913), great American financier, entrepreneur and visionary who in his lifetime invested over forty million dollars in Florida. He is widely recognized as responsible for the growth and advancement of the state. On first visiting St. Augustine in the spring of 1882, Flagler discovered it to be a dreamy town of temperate climate and Spanish charm; its shaded sandy streets alive with banks of flowers and lined with cottages with striped veranda roofs, there were pony carriages and dog carts, noisy tugs and fishing vessels at harbor. There were strolls in the old gardens of the Spanish Mission for the romantically inclined, and here and there a few picturesque inns served breakfasts of griddle cakes with syrup. All combined to create an idyllic holiday retreat.
Henry Morrison Flagler
“On first visiting St. Augustine in the spring of 1882, Flagler discovered it to be a dreamy town of temperate climate and Spanish charm.”
His return the following year, with business on his mind, marked a turning point in the town’s history. Realizing its huge potential as a unique vacation resort for rich Northerners, he decided to invest heavily in its infrastructure. He funded churches, schools, a city hall and a hospital, and for the accommodation of the wealthy travelers who would arrive in comfort and style from New York via his Florida East Coast Railway, he constructed three lavish hotels. Besides his masterpiece the Ponce de Leon and his Casa Monica, both opened in 1888, he opened the beautiful Alcazar the following year. The railway was designed not only to carry the wealthy and the famous, but also many of the materials needed to create his dream. He saw the building of palatial hotels as a unique way of encouraging Florida as a winter playground. The success of the Ponce de Leon, which opened its doors on January 10, 1888, was immediate and episodic. Just after 5 p.m. that afternoon, a vestibuled train carrying Flagler invitees arrived in town carrying their Louis Vuiton luggage. They were transferred to carriages and set off down Cordova Street towards the hotel, agog to see its reputed wonders. Gasps greeted the brilliantly lit building; lights sparkled against a sky of deep dusky blues.
 The Parlor of The Ponce DeLeon Hotel
The building cost $2.5 million and was designed by Tiffany with two young New York architects, Thomas Hastings and John Carrere. It was constructed of 60,000 barrels of poured concrete built on a coquina, sand and cement foundation. Inside, French perfume scented the air, music was playing and the Italian in-house tenor could be heard in practice in a far-off room. Guests marveled at the 75 Tiffany stained glass windows set in the walls of a vast 90 foot square dining room where they were served with a 9 course dinner that included soups, fish, meats, foul, plover on toast, soufflés, ham, éclairs, coconut pie and ice cream. The great rotunda rose to 86 feet and was painted with murals by Maynard Illustrating Adventure, Discovery, Conquest and Civilization. The towers soared to 150 feet; the electric elevator was 50 feet long – the largest known, running on a system of 29 miles of electrical wire. Guests explored the well-over 100 bedrooms, 80% of which had fireplaces. The elegant Bridal Suite cost $40 a night! There were 500 pairs of lace curtains, 1,240 pairs of blankets and 1,000 large rugs, and the Grand Parlor was 120 feet long.
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ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 27
News from JoAnne Eaton-Morriss, Guild President I am honored to be the 2009 - 2011 President of the Guild of the Museum of Arts & Sciences. I thank Janet that The Museum Guild is starting the year off with a bang! To introduce the new guild cookbook, Not Just Another Pretty Cake, Chef Hari Pulapaka presented “Professional Global Cooking at Home” at the September meeting. The cookbook, filled with recipes from Guild members, can be purchased in the museum store for $15. Guild members and guests went on a special fundraising trip to Mt. Dora with Cynthia Duval in September. The 2nd Vice-President has planned a year of intriguing programs with music and art during the social time. October’s meeting will be “Converting Real Crime into Fiction” by a contemporary Sherlock Holmes, Marshall Frank, author and violinist. The Guild meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 10am, and everyone is welcome. Guild committees are working hard on the 47th Halifax Art Festival on Beach Street November 7th & 8th. Please support this annual event by becoming a sponsor or patron.
The 4th Annual Festival of Lights will open with a Champagne Gala on Monday, November 23rd from 6:30-9:30 pm. Champagne Gala tickets are $35 per person and include entertainment, live music, and a fashion show. The festival will feature designer Christmas trees for sale through silent auction until Sunday, December 6th. Sponsors for the auction trees are still needed. The Artful Interlude Chairs have organized many fun fundraising events. There will be a Halloween Party at the Armstrong residence in October and a “Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus” at the museum and a Holiday Open House at the Connelly residence in December. There are many talented Guild members having a great time raising support for the Museum of Arts and Sciences.
28 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
Check the MOAS calendar section on page 17 for a full list of Guild events.
Store & Cafe is celebrating
Pre-order items online
Oct.15th!
Merchandise will be available in museum store Nov. 1!
Paintings of Florida 1865-1965
65
gs of Florida 1865-19
Reflections: Paintin
Reflections
they tell and the stories hese artifacts
Brown
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— Cici and Hyatt
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art has into Florida s in our journey
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Gary R. Libby
The Florida Dream continued from page 27 Flagler’s energy and vision were the catalyst for the ensuing tourist boom of both city and hotel; but weather and people are notoriously fickle and the freeze of 1895 was just one of the reasons that sent visitors seeking resorts further south. St. Augustine was not as warm and sunny as Palm Beach.
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St. Augustine did, however, survive the Great Depression and for a while life was bright with dances, concerts, picnics, cake walks and the requisite garden parties. The Ponce de Leon spread its wings and prospered.
Reflections Paintings of Florida 1865-1965
spirit has been time, the romantic “Since Bartram’s Florida remains South’s self-image. a vital part of the and its faith in nature Southern in its romanticism paintings of landscape and genre and renewal… The relationship express the vital the Brown Collection, spirit of its people, with a between a land and classically optimism that remains and imagination Color: Florida as the essay “Local Southern.” from Curator of Art, by Jay Williams, a Southern Place” of Art. Morris Museum 1865of Florida Painting Reflections:100 Years selection full color a generous 1965 illustrates in field of many new to the of important paintings, artists of the most significant scholarship, by some 1864 Sunshine State between who worked in the entitled “Local contains an essay and 1964. The book by Jay Williams, a Southern Place” Color: Florida as of Art in Museum the Morris Curator of Art at to explain Here Williams helps Augusta, Georgia. South and the unique the in art fine the flowering of played in that development. place that Florida curator for the publication, David Swoyer, guest Finding entitled “Floridaness: contributes an essay explains how Swoyer carefully the State in the Art.” and elements of the man-built artists used pictorial to help in their paintings natural Florida environment work while the subject of each geographically locate to each artist’s layer of meaning also adding a poetic Libby on each Essays by Gary R. finished product. a current and in this book present artist represented and cultural historical, authoritative biographical, to help the of each work designed aesthetic analysis cultural objects important these reader appreciate explores the “The Collectors” in context. An essay collection of a world-class creation and maturation and events and the individuals of Florida paintings Cici and Hyatt the collection of shape to that helped 1,500 items numbers well over Brown, which now known of the most important and contains some fields of many new to the paintings of Florida, connoisseurship. scholarship and
Then came WWII with all its ensuing economies. Gas rationing affected the influx of tourists; fewer visitors checked into the hotel. Footsteps echoed in half-empty hallways, staff was cut; glamour and comfort began to slip away.
Libby –– MOAS
Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865-1965 $39.95
Reflections Art Prints 11” x 17.” $8.50 each or $29.95 for a portfolio of six images.
Reflections Art T-Shirts $15.95 Available in white and ecru. 100% cotton. Women’s sizes small to extra-large.
A 200-page hard cover catalogue. This volume is a fresh look at the ‘Florida school of painters’ and at the aesthetic pleasure and the historical and social significance which is reflected in a representative selection of paintings from the larger Brown Collection. The book’s author, Gary R. Libby “hopes that this volume and the treasures it contains will contribute to the heightened public interest and enjoyment in the art, history and culture of Florida, including its important yet often overlooked role in the genesis of the visual arts in the South.”
“Flagler College campus is one of the loveliest in the nation with its proud centerpiece, the famed Ponce de Leon Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Children’s Gifts
Reflections Florida Art Coffee Mugs $9.95 each. 20% off set of four.
Art Quality Note Cards $1.95 each or $9.95 for a boxed set of 6 images. 5” x 7.”
Children’s Gifts Florida-themed educational books, Gund plush animals, and games. Visit MOAS.org for a full selection.
Looking for Corporate Gifts?
Call 386-255-0285, Tuesday - Friday, from 9am to 4pm for a personal consultation. The museum store offers quantity discounts and can create unique packages that include museum membership or admission passes. 30 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
Following Victory there was a period of jolly revival for both hotel and downtown. Yet in 1967, the Ponce de Leon, once the dazzling darling of St. Augustine, closed its doors. A final dinner dance took place on April 5. The hotel was bought by Flagler College, now a thriving and renowned private liberal arts college.
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Flagler College campus is one of the loveliest in the nation with its proud centerpiece the famed Ponce de Leon Hall listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It retains all of its original architectural integrity. Its “sister hotel”, The Alcazar, closed during the Depression, but was bought by Otto C. Lightner in 1948. Today it is known as the Lightner Museum and houses his extraordinary collection of Victoriana. The Casa Monica, Flagler’s third hotel, is still in operation. h
ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE 31
EXHIBIT SPOTLIGHT Stories of intrepid travelers exist since early times, but the word “tourists” to describe such travelers first appeared in Stendahl’s Memoires d’un Touriste, published in 1838. Not until the publication of the Dictionnaire Universel du XIX Siècle in 1876, however, is the word “tourist” defined as a person “who travels out of curiosity and idleness.” It is both extraordinary and fascinating to ponder that while the global tourist industry was expanding its horizons, the state of Florida was developing to become a major tourist venue of its own. In other words, Florida’s unique history is not so much as a state “discovered” by pioneers, but one that over time has been uncovered, county by county, by “tourists.”
Martin Johnson Heade’s Sunset with Alligator
The Lure of the
Exotic
Florida’s 19th Century Tourists By Wayne David Atherholt, Executive Director
During this time, the St. Johns River was becoming fairly well known. In his 1867 book, A Winter in Florida, Bill Ledyard wrote of the St. Johns as the “famous river of which we have so much heard, and whose praises are being sounded far and wide by every tourist who visits it.” What was it about the St. Johns that attracted such interest? Two years after Ledyard published his travelogue, in 1869, Daniel Garrison Brinton wrote that the St. Johns “probably is the remains of an ancient lagoon.” The lure of this type of fascinating and exotic destination, somewhat easily accessible in relative terms to the population centers of the northeast, proved quite powerful to those with both the financial means and leisure time to travel. The earliest published descriptions of tours up the St. Johns instilled such a sense of curiosity in readers that there grew a very real demand to visit the river and its region in person. The “grand tour of Florida,” as noted by George M. Barbour in his 1884 book Florida for Tourists, Invalids and Settlers, included a thrilling trip “up the St. John’s to Palatka, Enterprise, and Sanford, up the darkly-mysterious Ocklawaha (very few on this excursion even leaving the boat), then down the river again and over to St. Augustine.”
The evocative Martin Johnson Heade paintings St. Johns River, Sunset with Alligator and Twilight on the St. Johns River, perfectly capture the thousands of words written about the St. Johns in books of the time. Henry Lee, in his 1885 book The Tourist’s Guide of Florida, even went so far as to write “in all this broad land of ours, there is no nobler trip than to sail up this great tropical river.” Certainly Heade has captured the river’s nobility in both these pieces and their expansiveness of view is exactly what writers tried to describe as ‘great’ and ‘broad.’ The exotic characteristics of the river, if seen by someone who lived in the northeastern United States, was enhanced by visions of amazing Florida sunsets and clouds. These, foreshadowed by unusual vegetation and an expansive river scene, must have seemed other-worldly to artists and, indeed, to other tourists at the time. Lee goes on to describe the river journey as experiencing “a feeling of awe and sublimity of power in this mighty stream on which your steamer rides like a tiny thing at the mercy of the river god.” Heade has most definitely captured this feeling in both works in this exhibition. One of the unique aspects of early Florida river-paintings is the inclusion of the small steamers that were specifically built to ply their way up the Ocklawaha which feeds into the St. Johns near Welaka. The Ocklawaha River was the second destination on the ‘grand tour’ itinerary of the mid to late 19th century. These little steamers can be seen in two of the paintings in the exhibition that focus on the Ocklawaha. The unique character of the vessels caused them to be viewed as somewhat of a tourist attraction in and of themselves at the time. Guide books of the period specifically mention their unique design.
This issue of the MOAS magazine focuses on the exhibition Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865-1965 from the superb collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown, and the beauty and variety of the many landscapes in the exhibit has prompted me to expound on a subject dear to my heart: Florida Tourism.
Martin Johnson Heade’s Twilight on the St. Johns River 32 ARTS & SCIENCES MAGAZINE
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In Milton Lowell’s Evening on the Oklawaha River, ca. 1900, one can clearly see what Barbour described in 1884 as a river that is “grand, impressive, strange, tropical--now gloomy and awe-inspiring, now fairy-like and charming, and again weird and wild.” This truly was an exotic destination to those tourists in the late 19th century when both the Lowell and Frank Shapleigh’s Cypress Gate, Oklawaha River, Florida, 1890, were painted. In both of these paintings, the size and importance of the unique steamers appears diminutive to the power and size of nature herself. A further description of the Ocklawaha by Barbour perhaps best describes what these artists and early tourists saw: “great forest-trees…of immense size, oaks, gums, magnolias, cypress, etc., interspersed with the more tropical palmetto and palm, all laden and interlocked with a perfect network of immense vines, too tangled for description, brilliant with vegetation--leaves of all colors, flowers of all shapes, sizes, and hues, and loaded with great clusters of mosses.” If the St. Johns River was the primary excursion in Florida, the Ocklawaha River journey was for those even more adventurous. The images of the river in this exhibition illustrate the more exclusive nature of this excursion by including the small and intimate nature of the steamers used on this trip as well as the more intimate and mysterious landscape.
Frank Shapleigh’s SLAVE MARKET, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. Barbour further describes the chief industry in St. Augustine as that of “palmetto work.” He states that “hats, baskets, and boxes are very tastefully plaited from the sun-dried leaves of the low variety of the plant. Specimens of this handwork make pleasant mementoes of a visit to this ancient city.” It is interesting to note that the idea of tourism as an industry on its own had not occurred to the writer, even while documenting the ancillary enterprises associated with leisure travel. In the 1891 Shapleigh painting Slave Market, St. Augustine, Fla., two African Americans are shown with a woven basket with what appears to be palm leaves. Most likely the two are weav-
ing palm fronds for souvenirs. This activity can be seen more clearly in his 1889 painting Vedder’s Corner, St. Augustine, Florida. Also in this painting is one of Florida’s earliest “museums,” Dr. Vedder’s Florida Museum and Menagerie. In Jacksonville, jeweler Damon Greenleaf operated a similar “Museumenagerie” along Bay Street in that city. These early versions of the Florida attraction, so important to the development of tourism in the state, both included the word and rough concept of museum in their names. A date of reference for museums in America might be the completion of the first Smithsonian building, now known as “the castle,” which was in 1855. These exhibitions of Florida exotica established a few decades later served as the precursors of current tourist attractions while also laying the crude groundwork for today’s cultural institutions. There are many images with historical references to tourism throughout this exhibition, and every painting in this show tells a history of Florida. The exotic, tropical destination that attracted the artists in this show also attracted thousands of visitors who contributed to the development of the State of Florida as one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world.
The third travel destination on the grand tour of this time period included St. Augustine. Much has been written about the oldest city in the United States, but its modern ties to tourism really can be tied to one man, Henry Flagler. He visited the city for the first time in 1883 as a tourist and two years later bought a railway connecting St. Augustine with Jacksonville, a city described by Barbour in 1884 as the “commercial metropolis and social center of the State.” St. Augustine soon developed as an exotic travel destination, rapidly increasing in importance to the development of mass tourism in the State of Florida. One early attraction in the city, Fort Marion, now known as Castillo de San Marco, is the subject of the ca. 1891 William Staples Drown painting Gates and Fort Marion, St. Augustine as well as the 1890 Frank Shapleigh painting Fort Marion from the River, St. Augustine, Fla. This early attraction is noted in Brinton’s 1869 book as a “fine specimen of military architecture” in which “no fees are required by visitors.” Even then the concept of a fee-based attraction was common.
From top: Milton Lowell’s Evening on the Oklawaha River, ca. 1900 Frank Shapleigh’s Cypress Gate, Oklawaha River, Florida, 1890 Frank Shapleigh’s Fort Marion from the River, St. Augustine, Fla., 1890
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