Hal McIntosh at Exhibit at the Truro Public Library
Hal McIntosh at an exhibit of his artwork at the Truro Public Library, located at 7 Standish Way in North Truro, Massachusetts, during the summer of 2011. The painting to the left of McIntosh depicts his cottage on the beachfront. Born in 1927, McIntosh began his formal studies at the Detroit Art Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. At age 18, the Art Research Studio (present-day Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, selected him as the institution's youngest-ever artist in residence. His talent later earned him the Directorship of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served as a museum director and teacher for five years. As a resident of Central Florida, McIntosh taught at the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando and ran his own institution known as the McIntosh School in Winter Park for 30 years. McIntosh splits his time between his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Winter Park studios. With an artistic career lasting over 60 years, Hal McIntosh's influence on our community is profound. His bold abstractions, tranquil waterscapes, and stirring portraiture, all masterfully painted with a touch of McIntosh's signature Orientalism, have been widely exhibited in the area and are part of numerous regional collections, both private and public. Deep connections with the people and places of Orange County have allowed McIntosh to join the ranks as one of the greats and to be remembered eternally as an Art Legend.
Original color photograph: Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Truro Public Library, North Truro, Massachusetts
Still Life with Pears by Hal McIntosh. Born in 1927, McIntosh began his formal studies at the Detroit Art Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. At age 18, the Art Research Studio (present-day Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, selected him as the institution's youngest-ever artist in residence. His talent later earned him the Directorship of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served as a museum director and teacher for five years. As a resident of Central Florida, McIntosh taught at the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando and ran his own institution known as the McIntosh School in Winter Park for 30 years. McIntosh splits his time between his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Winter Park studios. With an artistic career lasting over 60 years, Hal McIntosh's influence on our community is profound. His bold abstractions, tranquil waterscapes, and stirring portraiture, all masterfully painted with a touch of McIntosh's signature Orientalism, have been widely exhibited in the area and are part of numerous regional collections, both private and public. Deep connections with the people and places of Orange County have allowed McIntosh to join the ranks as one of the greats and to be remembered eternally as an Art Legend.
Original painting: McIntosh, Hal. Still Life with Pears (painting): Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Study Without Violin by Hal McIntosh. Born in 1927, McIntosh began his formal studies at the Detroit Art Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. At age 18, the Art Research Studio (present-day Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, selected him as the institution's youngest-ever artist in residence. His talent later earned him the Directorship of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served as a museum director and teacher for five years. As a resident of Central Florida, McIntosh taught at the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando and ran his own institution known as the McIntosh School in Winter Park for 30 years. McIntosh splits his time between his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Winter Park studios. With an artistic career lasting over 60 years, Hal McIntosh's influence on our community is profound. His bold abstractions, tranquil waterscapes, and stirring portraiture, all masterfully painted with a touch of McIntosh's signature Orientalism, have been widely exhibited in the area and are part of numerous regional collections, both private and public. Deep connections with the people and places of Orange County have allowed McIntosh to join the ranks as one of the greats and to be remembered eternally as an Art Legend.
Original painting: McIntosh, Hal. Study Without Violin (painting): Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
The String by Hal McIntosh. Born in 1927, McIntosh began his formal studies at the Detroit Art Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. At age 18, the Art Research Studio (present-day Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, selected him as the institution's youngest-ever artist in residence. His talent later earned him the Directorship of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served as a museum director and teacher for five years. As a resident of Central Florida, McIntosh taught at the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando and ran his own institution known as the McIntosh School in Winter Park for 30 years. McIntosh splits his time between his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Winter Park studios. With an artistic career lasting over 60 years, Hal McIntosh's influence on our community is profound. His bold abstractions, tranquil waterscapes, and stirring portraiture, all masterfully painted with a touch of McIntosh's signature Orientalism, have been widely exhibited in the area and are part of numerous regional collections, both private and public. Deep connections with the people and places of Orange County have allowed McIntosh to join the ranks as one of the greats and to be remembered eternally as an Art Legend.
Original painting: McIntosh, Hal. The String (painting): Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Born in 1927, Hal McIntosh began his formal studies at the Detroit Art Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. At age 18, the Art Research Studio (present-day Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, selected him as the institution’s youngest-ever artist in residence. His talent later earned him the Directorship of the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served as a museum director and teacher for five years. As a resident of Central Florida, McIntosh taught at the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando and ran his own institution known as the McIntosh School in Winter Park for 30 years. McIntosh splits his time between his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Winter Park studios. With an artistic career lasting over 60 years, Hal McIntosh’s influence on our community is profound. His bold abstractions, tranquil waterscapes, and stirring portraiture, all masterfully painted with a touch of McIntosh’s signature Orientalism, have been widely exhibited in the area and are part of numerous regional collections, both private and public. Deep connections with the people and places of Orange County have allowed McIntosh to join the ranks as one of the greats and to be remembered eternally as an Art Legend.
Original black and white photograph: Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.
The Power of Passage, a sculpture created by Johann Eyfells in 1987. Eyfells was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1923. Eyfells works with a variety of media, including metal, wood, paper, plastic, and cloth, in an effort to document the interaction between time, space, and gravity. Many of his sculptures are minimal and non-objective, resembling lava or geological formations. In the 1960s, he developed the concept of Receptualism, the practice of portraying original ideas visually using non-representative and abstract forms. Eyfells considers himself more of an experimental chemist than a sculptor. Eyfells worked as an architect, artist, and teacher in Iceland before relocating to the United States. During his studies at Berkeley, Eyfells met Kristin Halldorsdottir, a former Icelandic model and dress designer. They married in 1949 and moved to Florida together to complete their studies in 1969. Eyfells finished his degree in architecture in 1953, and in 1964, he earned a master’s degree in fine arts. In 1969, he joined the art department of the Florida Technological Institute (present-day University of Central Florida) and taught there for over 30 years. On retirement, he moved to Fredericksburg, Texas.
Original color photograph: University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Johann Eyfells was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1923. Eyfells works with a variety of media, including metal, wood, paper, plastic, and cloth, in an effort to document the interaction between time, space, and gravity. Many of his sculptures are minimal and non-objective, resembling lava or geological formations. In the 1960s, he developed the concept of Receptualism, the practice of portraying original ideas visually using non-representative and abstract forms. Eyfells considers himself more of an experimental chemist than a sculptor. Eyfells worked as an architect, artist, and teacher in Iceland before relocating to the United States. During his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Eyfells met Kristin Halldorsdottir, a former Icelandic model and dress designer. They married in 1949 and moved to Florida together to complete their studies in 1969. Eyfells finished his degree in architecture in 1953, and in 1964, he earned a master’s degree in fine arts. In 1969, he joined the art department of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) and taught there for over 30 years. On retirement, he moved to Fredericksburg, Texas.
Original color photograph: Orange County Commission Chambers, Orlando, Florida.
Receptualistic Pyramid by Johann Eyfells
Receptualistic Pyramid, a sculpture by Johann Eyfells. Eyfells was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1923. Eyfells works with a variety of media, including metal, wood, paper, plastic, and cloth, in an effort to document the interaction between time, space, and gravity. Many of his sculptures are minimal and non-objective, resembling lava or geological formations. In the 1960s, he developed the concept of Receptualism, the practice of portraying original ideas visually using non-representative and abstract forms. Eyfells considers himself more of an experimental chemist than a sculptor. Eyfells worked as an architect, artist, and teacher in Iceland before relocating to the United States. During his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Eyfells met Kristin Halldorsdottir, a former Icelandic model and dress designer. They married in 1949 and moved to Florida together to complete their studies in 1969. Eyfells finished his degree in architecture in 1953, and in 1964, he earned a master’s degree in fine arts. In 1969, he joined the art department of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) and taught there for over 30 years. On retirement, he moved to Fredericksburg, Texas.
Original color photograph: Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park.
Mary Louise Curtis Bok and Jules André Smith
Zimbalist, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, 1876-1970
Mary Louise Curtis Bok (1874-1970) with Jules André Smith (1880–1959) in the main garden of the Research Studio (now the Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, in the 1940s or 1950s. Born in 1874, Bok was the only child of wealthy Philadelphia-based businessman Cyrus H. K. Curtis and Louisa Knapp Curtis, whose Curtis Publishing Company produced two of the most popular magazines in America: The Saturday Evening Post and The Ladies' Home Journal. Bok's early interests included music and writing for the magazine her father founded under the pen name of Mary L. Knapp. Recognized for countless philanthropic pursuits, Mary Louise Curtis Bok provided J. André Smith with sufficient patronage to establish The Research Studio in the early 1930s. As heiress to the Curtis Publishing Company, she is noted for establishing the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, funding the Annie Russell Theatre at Rollins College in Winter Park, and the construction of Bok Tower Gardens near Lake Wales, along with her husband Edward W. Bok. After Edward Bok’s death in 1930, Mary Louise married Efrem Zimbalist and was thereafter known as Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist. Born in 1880 to American parents in Hong Kong, raised in New York and Connecticut, and educated at Cornell University, Smith worked for several years as an architect, never giving up on his first love of art. His early passion was printmaking, specifically etching. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. During World War I, Smith continued to work in both drawing and printmaking, selected as one of eight artists by the U.S. government to go to France in 1918 to record military activities. He would later publish those works in a book titled In France with the American Expeditionary Forces. While travelling to Miami in the 1930s, Smith made an unplanned stop in Maitland, Florida. Having experienced a stunning sunset on nearby Lake Sybelia, he decided to travel no further and would go on to build his winter home and studio here, which is now the Maitland Art Center. Frustrated and disappointed with the area’s lack of support for contemporary art, Smith began plans for a residential "Lab-Gallery" that would encourage artistic exploration and experimentation in a sheltered studio environment. The studio compound, later known as The Research Studio, was the winter residence of prominent American artists such as Ralston Crawford, David Burlick, Ernest Roth, Milton Avery, Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Hal McIntosh. André Smith’s vision continued to thrive for over two decades under the generous financial support from his patron, philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok. Smith’s legacy is alive and well today at the Art & History Museum’s Maitland Art Center through its residency programs and exhibitions.
Original color photograph: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Annie Russell Theatre, Winter Park, Florida
Atillio Banca and Bill Orr (1925-) at the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, Florida. Banca, photographed on the left, was the Gallery Director of the Research Studio and a close, personal friend of artist Jules André Smith. The painting in the photograph is a portrait of Smith. The portait was painted by Orr, who is photographed on the right. Growing up in Michigan, Orr worked breaking in mustang ponies. When World War II broke out, Orr joined the U.S. Army and was a member of the cavalry regiment. Later seeing action on Okinawa in the Pacific Theater, he was among the first servicemen to serve in Japan after the war. Orr found his way to the Research Studio in 1961 after applying for a position through a newspaper advertisement. Orr, along with Maury Hurt, was instrumental in leading the movement to save the Art Center from developers in the 1960s. As an artist he made a living doing life-size portraits of horses. He would go on to establish himself as a leading equine artist, a tribute to his lifetime love of horses.
Original black and white photograph: Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Smith, J. André (Jules André), 1880-1959
Jules André Smith sitting in the courtyard outside his art studio on the Research Studio campus (now the Maitland Art Center) around the 1940s or 1950s. Born in 1880 to American parents in Hong Kong, raised in New York and Connecticut, and educated at Cornell University, J. André Smith worked for several years as an architect, never giving up on his first love of art. His early passion was printmaking, specifically etching. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. During World War I, Smith continued to work in both drawing and printmaking, selected as one of eight artists by the U.S. government to go to France in 1918 to record military activities. He would later publish those works in a book titled In France with the American Expeditionary Forces. While travelling to Miami in the 1930s, Smith made an unplanned stop in Maitland, Florida. Having experienced a stunning sunset on nearby Lake Sybelia, he decided to travel no further and would go on to build his winter home and studio here, which is now the Maitland Art Center. Frustrated and disappointed with the area’s lack of support for contemporary art, Smith began plans for a residential "Lab-Gallery" that would encourage artistic exploration and experimentation in a sheltered studio environment. The studio compound, later known as The Research Studio, was the winter residence of prominent American artists such as Ralston Crawford, David Burlick, Ernest Roth, Milton Avery, Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Hal McIntosh. André Smith’s vision continued to thrive for over two decades under the generous financial support from his patron, philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok. Smith’s legacy is alive and well today at the Art & History Museum’s Maitland Art Center through its residency programs and exhibitions.
Original black and white photograph: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Known to many as "Doc," Doris Marie Leeper was a trailblazing abstract painter and sculptor based in Eldora, Florida, near New Smyrna Beach. Originally from North Carolina, Leeper found an artistic oasis in Central Florida. The region provided her with the space to buy a house and work in relative isolation, but also augmented her interest in natural preservation. Today, the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve remains a testament to her environmental dedication. Leeper’s impact on Central Florida also became apparent through her support for institutions; for example, she was a founder of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Leeper’s local legacy manifests itself most profoundly through her artistic production. Her bold lines, strong color palette, and propensity for clean lines aesthetically aligned her with minimalism. Leeper’s painting evolved from representational to non-objective over time. She embraced a language of abstraction more typical of the prevailing New York art world in the 1960 and 1970s, as opposed to the dominant aesthetic in Florida during the same time period. She showed her work locally and regionally with regularity. Her work was celebrated by significant solo exhibitions at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. The process of mining local histories yields the legacies of talented artists who have often been discarded from mainstream narratives. When one engages deeper with Leeper’s work, it is not difficult to conclude that her myriad two- and three-dimensional works are worthy of not only a local, but a national story.
Original black and white photograph: Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, Florida.
Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Jenkins, Bill (William Sterling), 1909-1996
William "Bill" Sterling Jenkins traveled the world, built and prospered in many different careers, recorded his travels and experiences in his paintings, and made a permanent impact on the Central Florida community. Jenkins received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1934 from the University of Florida and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to study art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. He spent several intensive years traveling through Europe by rail and bicycle, creating figure and landscape paintings. Upon his return, he established an art school in Columbus, Georgia. In 1942, he married Alice Moberg after meeting her in Mexico, where he studied silversmithing. Following a brief stint in the U.S. Army, Jenkins received an honorable discharge after contracting pneumonia and was sent to the Veterans Administration hospital in Orlando, Florida, to recuperate. He then worked for the VA and pioneered a program of rehabilitative art therapy classes for veterans. After earning his master's degree in psychology from Florida State University in 1950, he settled in Winter Park and established Jenkins Construction Company, building many residential communities and shopping centers. In 1975, Jenkins established Creald้ฉ School of Art, donating the organization and the property to the community in 1990. He also established the Jenkins Chair at the University of Central Florida, and donated the majority of his paintings to the UCF Art Gallery.
Original black and white photograph by Rick Lang: Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida
UCF Art Gallery, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
The venerable Grady Kimsey enjoys critical and popular success as a sculptor, potter, painter and instructor, with eight decades of life experiences to draw upon for inspiration. Kimsey was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1928. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in 1950, and then completed his master's In Education from Rollins College in Winter Park in 1969. Kimsey remains modest about his many accomplishments, which began in his high school days and have continued throughout his career. He has received the Council of Arts and Sciences for Central Florida Award for "Outstanding Achievement in the Arts" in 1982, the Richard A. Florsheim Art Grant in 1992, and a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in 1990 and again in 1996. Kimsey's influence was extensive on budding artists in the community, having served as a professor of art for 20 years at Seminole Community College (present-day Seminole State College of Florida). Among his many other contributions to that institution, Kimsey founded the Fine Arts Gallery in 1980. As an instructor, he was known to guide his students to explore all media and styles. When ready, his students had the confidence to stand behind their work, and many are still creating and exhibiting with the same devotion as their mentor.
Original color photograph: Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Seminole Community College, Sanford, Florida
Hugh F. McKean (1908-1995) moved to Orlando, Florida, from College Hill in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. He earned his bachelor's degree from Rollins College in Winter Park in 1930 and joined its faculty in 1932, later heading its art department. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Art Students League in New York City, the École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau in France, and Harvard University. The Tiffany Foundation also selected him in 1930 to join other artists at Laurelton Hall, Louis Comfort Tiffany's mansion at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York, under Tiffany's tutelage. In 1940, he received his master's degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He married Jeannette Genius , the granddaughter of Charles Hosmer Morse, in 1945. McKean then served as the president of Rollins College from 1951 to 1969 and the director of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art from 1942 until his death in 1995.
College Hill, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art , Winter Park, Florida
Jeannette Genius McKean (1909-1989) was a painter, interior designer, and trustee, and benefactor of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she visited her grandfather, Charles Hosmer Morse, in Winter Park. On one summer visit in 1926, she enrolled in a course at Rollins, touching off a lifelong interest in the college. In 1942, Jeannette Genius founded the Morse Gallery of Art (present-day Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art) on the Rollins College campus, naming it for her grandfather. She appointed Rollins art professor Hugh McKean as the gallery's director, and in 1945, she married him.
A self portrait of Steve Lotz in 2005. Lotz received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Lotz became an instructor of art at the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando in 1968, and served as the chairman of the Art Department for its first 10 years. He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2003. As head of the department, Lotz was integral in establishing the success of the University's visual arts programs. Steve Lotz is an internationally-recognized artist with solo exhibitions of his work held throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean, and he is represented in numerous public and private collections. His best known work in Central Florida is the monumental triptych, Florida Dream, which has been on view in the main terminal of the Orlando International Airport since it was commissioned in 1981.
Original color photograph by Steve Lotz: Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida.
Florida Technological University, Orlando, Florida
Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Walter Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President's Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek's work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomnster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, Sใo Paolo, and Paris.
Original color photograph: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Hillwood Art Museum, Long Island University, Greenvale, New York
Gaudnek Europe Museum, Altomnster, Dachau, Bavaria, Germany
Born in New York City, Harri Klotz has worked in New York, Florida, and Provincetown, Massachusetts. Settling in Orlando in 1946, she and husband, Solomon Klotz, collected jewelry from around the world along with pre-Columbian artifacts, which was donated to the Orlando Museum of Art upon her death at age 84. Discovering a lack of interest and support for the arts in Central Florida, Klotz formed the Creative Workshop, an artist's cooperative, in 1962. Members were encouraged to exhibit their work and share critique and ideas. She eventually opened a commercial gallery, as well. Klotz was a colorist who employed layers upon layers of paint. One can look at one color area and see further and further within, but always return to the surface, as when a person looks into a pool of water that reflect the sky. Her jagged edgings enhance the dynamism of her surfaces. Free from any particular boundaries while retaining control of the elements, the emphasis is focused on the subject of the interior state with the intense feeling evoked by the abstract qualities of nature. The interplay of free shapes and the intensity of color expression float in an atmospheric continuum. Harri employs the full prism of colors in many ranges and categories.
Original color painting by Harri Klotz: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Red Azalea by David Reese, one of Central Florida's best known watercolorists. Reese began his art studies at the High Museum School of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, and continued at the Art Students League and the Fashion Academy (both in New York), and at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He taught at the Fashion Academy, Atlanta Art Institute, Armstrong State College in Savannah, Stetson University in Deland, and Valencia Community College (present-day Valencia College) in Orlando. Reese, formerly the director of the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando, was also an instructor at the Creald้ฉ School of Art in Winter Park, where he taught classes and workshops in watercolor. Reese typically paints segments of nature by taking a small portion of a scene and blowing it up as big as 30 inches by 40 inches. He also occasionally uses slides as references, and says he will take a scene as small as a quarter of the slide and magnify it to huge proportions. Finally, Reese also occasionally paints landscapes. In his technique, Reese relies mainly on composition and subject matter for impact.
Original watercolor painting by David Reese: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Judy Albertson was active in the art community when she met gallery owner Louise Peterson. Fifteen years later, they established the Albertson-Peterson Gallery as a unique fine arts crafts gallery. Together, the pair developed a dialogue that led to greater interest in the importance of a solid link between business and the art community. Independent of the commercial gallery, the Art Consulting Program Planning Division helped give direction and dedication to corporations through the acquisition of visual arts. Albertson was involved in helping University of Central Florida develop its educational and arts programs from its early years. She has served on the UCF Board of Trustees and the UCF Foundation and helped establish Friends of UCF (a nonprofit organization dealing with the arts, humanities and culture). She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Orlando Museum of Art, a member of the Board of Visitors of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College and was on the board of the Cultural Alliance.
Albertson-Peterson Gallery, Winter Park, Florida
Doris "Doc" Marie Leeper with Sculpture, 1996
Doris Marie Leeper in 1996. Known to many as "Doc," Leeper was a trailblazing abstract painter and sculptor based in Eldora, Florida, near New Smyrna Beach. Originally from North Carolina, Leeper found an artistic oasis in Central Florida. The region provided her with the space to buy a house and work in relative isolation, but also augmented her interest in natural preservation. Today, the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve remains a testament to her environmental dedication. Leeper’s impact on Central Florida also became apparent through her support for institutions; for example, she was a founder of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Leeper’s local legacy manifests itself most profoundly through her artistic production. Her bold lines, strong color palette, and propensity for clean lines aesthetically aligned her with minimalism. Leeper’s painting evolved from representational to non-objective over time. She embraced a language of abstraction more typical of the prevailing New York art world in the 1960 and 1970s, as opposed to the dominant aesthetic in Florida during the same time period. She showed her work locally and regionally with regularity. Her work was celebrated by significant solo exhibitions at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. The process of mining local histories yields the legacies of talented artists who have often been discarded from mainstream narratives. When one engages deeper with Leeper’s work, it is not difficult to conclude that her myriad two- and three-dimensional works are worthy of not only a local, but a national story.
Original black and white photograph by Jack Mitchell, 1996: Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Doris Marie Leeper in her studio in 1956. Known to many as "Doc," Leeper was a trailblazing abstract painter and sculptor based in Eldora, Florida, near New Smyrna Beach. Originally from North Carolina, Leeper found an artistic oasis in Central Florida. The region provided her with the space to buy a house and work in relative isolation, but also augmented her interest in natural preservation. Today, the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve remains a testament to her environmental dedication. Leeper’s impact on Central Florida also became apparent through her support for institutions; for example, she was a founder of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Leeper’s local legacy manifests itself most profoundly through her artistic production. Her bold lines, strong color palette, and propensity for clean lines aesthetically aligned her with minimalism. Leeper’s painting evolved from representational to non-objective over time. She embraced a language of abstraction more typical of the prevailing New York art world in the 1960 and 1970s, as opposed to the dominant aesthetic in Florida during the same time period. She showed her work locally and regionally with regularity. Her work was celebrated by significant solo exhibitions at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. The process of mining local histories yields the legacies of talented artists who have often been discarded from mainstream narratives. When one engages deeper with Leeper’s work, it is not difficult to conclude that her myriad two- and three-dimensional works are worthy of not only a local, but a national story.
Original black and white photograph, 1956: Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Untitled, an oil painting by Orlando native Maury Hurt (1934-2013), who graduated from the University of Florida with a design degree in 1956. Hurt continued to work in the graphic arts fields for several years after serving a short tour in the U.S. Army before abandoning the profession to become a full-time painter. From a studio at the Art & History Museums’s Maitland Art Center, Hurt’s work centered on primitive and archaic themes often focusing on the relationship of humans, animals, and early prehistoric life. Hurst, along with Bill Orr, was instrumental in leading the movement to save the Art Center from developers in the 1960s. His legacy lies in his masterful work and is mentorship of artists across Central Florida.
Original 42 x 36 inch oil painting: Hurt, Maury. Untitled: Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
World Champion Pine Chip by Bill Orr. Growing up in Michigan, Orr (1925-) worked breaking in mustang ponies. When World War II broke out, Orr joined the U.S. Army and was a member of the cavalry regiment. Later seeing action on Okinawa in the Pacific Theater, he was among the first servicemen to serve in Japan after the war. Orr found his way to the Research Studio in 1961 after applying for a position through a newspaper advertisement. Orr, along with Maury Hurt, was instrumental in leading the movement to save the Art Center from developers in the 1960s. As an artist he made a living doing life-size portraits of horses. He would go on to establish himself as a leading equine artist, a tribute to his lifetime love of horses.
Original painting: Orr, Bill. World Champion Pine Chip: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Ralph L. Bagley (ca. 1914-2008) with his paintings. Bagley was an artist and instructor who taught in Central Florida from the 1950s until his death in 2008, when he was 94 years old. He was born in Bertrand, Missouri, and attended the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, continuing his studies in New York and Washington, D.C. Bagley and his wife, Marianne Bagley, moved to Orlando, Florida in 1950, where Bagley founded the Orlando Institute of Art, the city’s first fine-arts school. Bagley depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and charcoal. Bagley also taught at Orlando Junior College, becoming head of the school’s art department in 1965. After the college closed in 1971, he taught at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, and the Loch Haven Art Center (now the Orlando Museum of Art). He toured the nation with at least 30 one-man art shows featuring his paintings. Among many positions he held in art organizations, Bagley was president of the Orlando Art Association and a founding member and president of the Artists’ League of Orange County. The works of his many students sustain his legacy.
Original black and white photograph: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Orlando Institute of Art, Orlando, Florida
Orlando Junior College, Orlando, Florida
Lake-Sumter Community College, Leesburg, Florida
Abandoned, an oil painting by Ralph L. Bagley (ca. 1914-2008). Bagley was an artist and instructor who taught in Central Florida from the 1950s until his death in 2008, when he was 94 years old. He was born in Bertrand, Missouri, and attended the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, continuing his studies in New York and Washington, D.C. Bagley and his wife, Marianne Bagley, moved to Orlando, Florida in 1950, where Bagley founded the Orlando Institute of Art, the city’s first fine-arts school. Bagley depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and charcoal. Bagley also taught at Orlando Junior College, becoming head of the school’s art department in 1965. After the college closed in 1971, he taught at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, and the Loch Haven Art Center (now the Orlando Museum of Art). He toured the nation with at least 30 one-man art shows featuring his paintings. Among many positions he held in art organizations, Bagley was president of the Orlando Art Association and a founding member and president of the Artists’ League of Orange County. The works of his many students sustain his legacy.
Original oil painting: Bagley, Ralph L. Abandoned: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Composition, an oil painting by Ralph L. Bagley (ca. 1914-2008). Bagley was an artist and instructor who taught in Central Florida from the 1950s until his death in 2008, when he was 94 years old. He was born in Bertrand, Missouri, and attended the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, continuing his studies in New York and Washington, D.C. Bagley and his wife, Marianne Bagley, moved to Orlando, Florida in 1950, where Bagley founded the Orlando Institute of Art, the city’s first fine-arts school. Bagley depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and charcoal. Bagley also taught at Orlando Junior College, becoming head of the school’s art department in 1965. After the college closed in 1971, he taught at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, and the Loch Haven Art Center (now the Orlando Museum of Art). He toured the nation with at least 30 one-man art shows featuring his paintings. Among many positions he held in art organizations, Bagley was president of the Orlando Art Association and a founding member and president of the Artists’ League of Orange County. The works of his many students sustain his legacy.
Original oil painting: Bagley, Ralph L. Composition: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Untitled (Tondo) by Doris "Doc" Marie Leeper
Untitled (Tondo), an oil on masonite painting created by Doris Marie Leeper around 1960. Known to many as "Doc," Leeper was a trailblazing abstract painter and sculptor based in Eldora, Florida near New Smyrna Beach. Originally from North Carolina, Leeper found an artistic oasis in Central Florida. The region provided her with the space to buy a house and work in relative isolation, but also augmented her interest in natural preservation. Today, the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve remains a testament to her environmental dedication. Leeper’s impact on Central Florida also became apparent through her support for institutions; for example, she was a founder of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Leeper’s local legacy manifests itself most profoundly through her artistic production. Her bold lines, strong color palette, and propensity for clean lines aesthetically aligned her with minimalism. Leeper’s painting evolved from representational to non-objective over time. She embraced a language of abstraction more typical of the prevailing New York art world in the 1960 and 1970s, as opposed to the dominant aesthetic in Florida during the same time period. She showed her work locally and regionally with regularity. Her work was celebrated by significant solo exhibitions at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. The process of mining local histories yields the legacies of talented artists who have often been discarded from mainstream narratives. When one engages deeper with Leeper’s work, it is not difficult to conclude that her myriad two- and three-dimensional works are worthy of not only a local, but a national story.
Original oil painting: Leeper, Doris Marie. Untitled (Tondo): item 1995.13, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, Florida.
Seekers, an oil painting created by Grady Kimsey in 2014. Kimsey enjoys critical and popular success as a sculptor, potter, painter and instructor, with eight decades of life experiences to draw upon for inspiration. Kimsey was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1928. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in 1950, and then completed his master’s In Education from Rollins College in Winter Park in 1969. Kimsey remains modest about his many accomplishments, which began in his high school days and have continued throughout his career. He has received the Council of Arts and Sciences for Central Florida Award for "Outstanding Achievement in the Arts" in 1982, the Richard A. Florsheim Art Grant in 1992, and a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in 1990 and again in 1996. Kimsey's influence was extensive on budding artists in the community, having served as a professor of art for 20 years at Seminole Community College (present-day Seminole State College of Florida). Among his many other contributions to that institution, Kimsey founded the Fine Arts Gallery in 1980. As an instructor, he was known to guide his students to explore all media and styles. When ready, his students had the confidence to stand behind their work, and many are still creating and exhibiting with the same devotion as their mentor.
Original 24 x 48 inch painting: Kimsey, Grady. Seekers, 2014: Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida.
Bell Towers, an oil painting created by William "Bill" Sterling Jenkins in 1941. The painting depicts the small town of Taxco de Alarcón in Mexico. Jenkins received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1934 from the University of Florida and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to study art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. He spent several intensive years traveling through Europe by rail and bicycle, creating figure and landscape paintings. Upon his return, he established an art school in Columbus, Georgia. In 1942, he married Alice Moberg after meeting her in Mexico, where he studied silversmithing. Following a brief stint in the U.S. Army, Jenkins received an honorable discharge after contracting pneumonia and was sent to the Veterans Administration hospital in Orlando, Florida, to recuperate. He then worked for the VA and pioneered a program of rehabilitative art therapy classes for veterans. After earning his master’s degree in psychology from Florida State University in 1950, he settled in Winter Park and established Jenkins Construction Company, building many residential communities and shopping centers. In 1975, Jenkins established Crealdé School of Art, donating the organization and the property to the community in 1990. He also established the Jenkins Chair at the University of Central Florida, and donated the majority of his paintings to the UCF Art Gallery.
Original 26.5 x 18.5 inch oil painting: Jenkins, Bill. Bell Towers, 1941: Private Collection of the Jenkins Family.
The Changing South, an oil painting created by William "Bill" Sterling Jenkins in 1940. The painting depicts two African-American boys in Alabama. Jenkins received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1934 from the University of Florida and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to study art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. He spent several intensive years traveling through Europe by rail and bicycle, creating figure and landscape paintings. Upon his return, he established an art school in Columbus, Georgia. In 1942, he married Alice Moberg after meeting her in Mexico, where he studied silversmithing. Following a brief stint in the U.S. Army, Jenkins received an honorable discharge after contracting pneumonia and was sent to the Veterans Administration hospital in Orlando, Florida, to recuperate. He then worked for the VA and pioneered a program of rehabilitative art therapy classes for veterans. After earning his master’s degree in psychology from Florida State University in 1950, he settled in Winter Park and established Jenkins Construction Company, building many residential communities and shopping centers. In 1975, Jenkins established Crealdé School of Art, donating the organization and the property to the community in 1990. He also established the Jenkins Chair at the University of Central Florida, and donated the majority of his paintings to the UCF Art Gallery.
Original 32.5 x 38.75 inch oil painting: Jenkins, Bill. The Changing South, 1940: University of Central Florida Art Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Albin Polasek Chiseling Man Carving His Own Destiny
Sculptor Albin Polasek chisteling Man Carving His Own Destiny from limestone, with his assistant, Robert A. Baille, around 1960. Polasek sculpted his first version of Man Carving His Own Destiny while studying under Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907. Reminisicent of Michaelangelo's Slaves, the sculpture depicts a man chiseling himself out of stone. Polasek has sculpted 53 different variations of Man Carving His Own Destiny throughout his lifetime. His various recreations depict differences in arm positions, the look of the hair, and how much of the man's body is emerged from the rock. Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a woodcarver in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. After working in the Midwest for nearly four years, Polasek finally began his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910, Polasek won the Prix de Rome competition, spending three years at the American Academy of Art in Rome, Italy. Once he completed his studies in Rome, Polasek moved to New York City, New York, and set up a studio there. In 1916, the Art Institute of Chicago invited him to head its sculpture department, where he remained for nearly 30 years. In 1949, Polasek retired to Winter Park, Florida, building a home on Lake Osceola. In spite of suffering a stroke in 1950 that left him confined to a wheelchair and his left side paralyzed, Polasek continued to paint, draw, sculpt clay, and carve wood, creating a total of 18 major works before his death in 1965. In 1961, Polasek established the Polasek Foundation, designating his personal galleries, chapel, and gardens as a museum. Each year, thousands of local and international guests come to Winter Park to visit Polasek’s historic home and studio at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Polasek’s works can be found in Europe, all over the United States, and locally in Winter Park and Orlando.
Original black and white photograph: Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Roofs and Palms by Jules André Smith. Born in 1880 to American parents in Hong Kong, raised in New York and Connecticut, and educated at Cornell University, J. André Smith worked for several years as an architect, never giving up on his first love of art. His early passion was printmaking, specifically etching. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. During World War I, Smith continued to work in both drawing and printmaking, selected as one of eight artists by the U.S. government to go to France in 1918 to record military activities. He would later publish those works in a book titled In France with the American Expeditionary Forces. While travelling to Miami in the 1930s, Smith made an unplanned stop in Maitland, Florida. Having experienced a stunning sunset on nearby Lake Sybelia, he decided to travel no further and would go on to build his winter home and studio here, which is now the Maitland Art Center. Frustrated and disappointed with the area’s lack of support for contemporary art, Smith began plans for a residential "Lab-Gallery" that would encourage artistic exploration and experimentation in a sheltered studio environment. The studio compound, later known as The Research Studio, was the winter residence of prominent American artists such as Ralston Crawford, David Burlick, Ernest Roth, Milton Avery, Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Hal McIntosh. André Smith’s vision continued to thrive for over two decades under the generous financial support from his patron, philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok. Smith’s legacy is alive and well today at the Art & History Museum’s Maitland Art Center through its residency programs and exhibitions.
Original painting: Smith, Jules André. Roofs and Palms: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Go, an acrylic painting created by Dr. Walter Gaudnek in 1974. Go depicts a spacecraft in outer space, with the Sun and Saturn in the background. Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original acrylic painting: Gaudnek, Walter. Go, 1974: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Remember Holbein, a painting created by Dr. Walter Gaudnek in 1994. Remember Holbein Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original painting: Gaudnek, Walter. Remember Holbein, 1996: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Walter Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original color photographs: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Louise Peterson (1920-2009) opened Galleries International in Winter Park, Florida, in 1969 with an impetus on exhibiting emerging artists and introducing the original print medium to the Central Florida market. These "educational practices" were well received by the community, both in the private sector and especially those with corporate interests. A relationship with the Orlando Museum of Art and the Council of Arts and Sciences soon developed. In 1984, Galleries International became the Albertson-Peterson Gallery when she partnered with long-time friend Judy Albertson. Louise Peterson was a member of the Council of 101 of the Orlando Museum of Art, advisory to the Committee of Acquisition of the 20th Century American prints for that museum and also a lecturer and juror for community and collegiate competitions.
Original color photograph: Private Collection of Judy Albertson.
Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida
Texann Ivy Buck is a graduate of Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Specializing in 20th Century American prints, sculpture, and in the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) prints, Buck established Texann Ivy Fine Arts, located at 818 Ellwood Avenue in Orlando, in 1977. In the 1980s, she curated an exhibition on 1930s American printmaking at the Cornell Museum of Art at Rollins College in Winter Park. In 2013, she created a display honoring Dr. Jerry B. Callahan, which is on permanent display at the Callahan Neighborhood Center, located on Parramore Avenue in Orlando. She remains involved with Orange County art, history, and cultural institutions.
Original color photograph: Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.
Genesis II, a painting created by Steve Lotz in 1998. Lotz received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Lotz became an instructor of art at the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando in 1968, and served as the chairman of the Art Department for its first 10 years. He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2003. As head of the department, Lotz was integral in establishing the success of the University’s visual arts programs. Steve Lotz is an internationally-recognized artist with solo exhibitions of his work held throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean, and he is represented in numerous public and private collections. His best known work in Central Florida is the monumental triptych, Florida Dream, which has been on view in the main terminal of the Orlando International Airport since it was commissioned in 1981.
Original 79 x 70 inch painting: Lotz, Steve. Genesis II, 1998: Orange County Courthouse, Orlando, Florida.
Garden of Proteus, an acrylic painting created by Steve Lotz in 2005. Lotz received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Lotz became an instructor of art at the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando in 1968, and served as the chairman of the Art Department for its first 10 years. He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2003. As head of the department, Lotz was integral in establishing the success of the University’s visual arts programs. Steve Lotz is an internationally-recognized artist with solo exhibitions of his work held throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean, and he is represented in numerous public and private collections. His best known work in Central Florida is the monumental triptych, Florida Dream, which has been on view in the main terminal of the Orlando International Airport since it was commissioned in 1981.
Original 70.5 x 80 inch acrylic painting: Lotz, Steve. Garden of Proteus, 2005: Private Collection of Steve Lotz.
Mapping the Florida Terrain by Dr. Walter Gaudnek
Mapping the Florida Terrain, a painting created by Dr. Walter Gaudnek in 1989. Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original 106 x 240 inch painting: Gaudnek, Walter. Mapping the Florida Terrain, 1989: University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Indian River Lagoon by Dr. Walter Gaudnek
Indian River Lagoon, an acrylic painting created by Dr. Walter Gaudnek in 1974. Indian River Lagoon depicts a spacecraft in outer space, with the Sun and Saturn in the background. Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original acrylic painting: Gaudnek, Walter. Indian River Lagoon, 1974: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Two Figures in Green Landscape by Hugh F. McKean
An untitled oil painting by Hugh F. McKean (1908-1995). Although the painting has no official title, it is commonly referred to as Two Figures in Green Landscape. McKean moved to Orlando, Florida, from College Hill in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rollins College in Winter Park in 1930 and joined its faculty in 1932, later heading its art department. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Art Students League in New York City, the École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau in France, and Harvard University. The Tiffany Foundation also selected him in 1930 to join other artists at Laurelton Hall, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s mansion at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York, under Tiffany’s tutelage. In 1940, he received his master’s degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He married Jeannette Genius , the granddaughter of Charles Hosmer Morse, in 1945. McKean then served as the president of Rollins College from 1951 to 1969 and the director of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art from 1942 until his death in 1995.
Original 16 x 20 inch oil painting by Hugh F. McKean: Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.
A painting by Jeannette Genius McKean (1909-1989). McKean was a painter, interior designer, and trustee, and benefactor of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she visited her grandfather, Charles Hosmer Morse, in Winter Park. On one summer visit in 1926, she enrolled in a course at Rollins, touching off a lifelong interest in the college. In 1942, Jeannette Genius founded the Morse Gallery of Art (present-day Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art) on the Rollins College campus, naming it for her grandfather. She appointed Rollins art professor Hugh McKean as the gallery’s director, and in 1945, she married him.
Original painting by Jeannette Genius McKean: Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.
Old Mill, a painting by Ralph L. Bagley (ca. 1914-2008). Old Mill features a mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Bagley was an artist and instructor who taught in Central Florida from the 1950s until his death in 2008, when he was 94 years old. He was born in Bertrand, Missouri, and attended the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, continuing his studies in New York and Washington, D.C. Bagley and his wife, Marianne Bagley, moved to Orlando, Florida in 1950, where Bagley founded the Orlando Institute of Art, the city’s first fine-arts school. Bagley depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and charcoal. Bagley also taught at Orlando Junior College, becoming head of the school’s art department in 1965. After the college closed in 1971, he taught at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, and the Loch Haven Art Center (now the Orlando Museum of Art). He toured the nation with at least 30 one-man art shows featuring his paintings. Among many positions he held in art organizations, Bagley was president of the Orlando Art Association and a founding member and president of the Artists’ League of Orange County. The works of his many students sustain his legacy.
Original painting: Bagley, Ralph L. Old Mill: City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Orlando, Florida.
Ralph L. Bagley (ca. 1914-2008) with his painting. Bagley was an artist and instructor who taught in Central Florida from the 1950s until his death in 2008, when he was 94 years old. He was born in Bertrand, Missouri, and attended the Flint Institute of Art in Flint, Michigan, continuing his studies in New York and Washington, D.C. Bagley and his wife, Marianne Bagley, moved to Orlando, Florida in 1950, where Bagley founded the Orlando Institute of Art, the city’s first fine-arts school. Bagley depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, and charcoal. Bagley also taught at Orlando Junior College, becoming head of the school’s art department in 1965. After the college closed in 1971, he taught at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, and the Loch Haven Art Center (now the Orlando Museum of Art). He toured the nation with at least 30 one-man art shows featuring his paintings. Among many positions he held in art organizations, Bagley was president of the Orlando Art Association and a founding member and president of the Artists’ League of Orange County. The works of his many students sustain his legacy.
Mother Crying Over the World by Albin Polasek
Mother Crying Over the World, a sculpture created by Albin Polasek in 1942. Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a woodcarver in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. After working in the Midwest for nearly four years, Polasek finally began his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910, Polasek won the Prix de Rome competition, spending three years at the American Academy of Art in Rome, Italy. Once he completed his studies in Rome, Polasek moved to New York City, New York, and set up a studio there. In 1916, the Art Institute of Chicago invited him to head its sculpture department, where he remained for nearly 30 years. In 1949, Polasek retired to Winter Park, Florida, building a home on Lake Osceola. In spite of suffering a stroke in 1950 that left him confined to a wheelchair and his left side paralyzed, Polasek continued to paint, draw, sculpt clay, and carve wood, creating a total of 18 major works before his death in 1965. In 1961, Polasek established the Polasek Foundation, designating his personal galleries, chapel, and gardens as a museum. Each year, thousands of local and international guests come to Winter Park to visit Polasek’s historic home and studio at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Polasek’s works can be found in Europe, all over the United States, and locally in Winter Park and Orlando.
Original sculpture: Polasek, Albin. Man Carving His Own Destiny: Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Man Carving His Own Destiny by Albin Polasek
Man Carving His Own Destiny, a sculpture chiseled from limestone by Albin Polasek in 1961. Polasek sculpted his first version of Man Carving His Own Destiny while studying under Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907. Reminisicent of Michaelangelo's Slaves, the sculpture depicts a man chiseling himself out of stone. Polasek has sculpted 53 different variations of Man Carving His Own Destiny throughout his lifetime. His various recreations depict differences in arm positions, the look of the hair, and how much of the man's body is emerged from the rock. Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a woodcarver in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. After working in the Midwest for nearly four years, Polasek finally began his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910, Polasek won the Prix de Rome competition, spending three years at the American Academy of Art in Rome, Italy. Once he completed his studies in Rome, Polasek moved to New York City, New York, and set up a studio there. In 1916, the Art Institute of Chicago invited him to head its sculpture department, where he remained for nearly 30 years. In 1949, Polasek retired to Winter Park, Florida, building a home on Lake Osceola. In spite of suffering a stroke in 1950 that left him confined to a wheelchair and his left side paralyzed, Polasek continued to paint, draw, sculpt clay, and carve wood, creating a total of 18 major works before his death in 1965. In 1961, Polasek established the Polasek Foundation, designating his personal galleries, chapel, and gardens as a museum. Each year, thousands of local and international guests come to Winter Park to visit Polasek’s historic home and studio at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Polasek’s works can be found in Europe, all over the United States, and locally in Winter Park and Orlando.
Forest Idyl, a sculpture recreated by Albin Polasek (1879-1965) in 1964. The original sculpture was created with bronze in 1924. Polasek was inspired by Henry Wadsforth Longellow's epic poem "The Song of Hiawartha." Another casting of Forest Idyl was contributed to an art gallery in New York, where the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, Daniel Chester French, won the sculpture in a draawing of the gallery's supporting members. While at the American Academy in Rome, Italy, as an honorary professor in 1931, Polasek created a life-size version of Forest Idyl for sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntongton for Brookgreen Gardens, which was her estate in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. A copy of the 1931 sculpture was also contributed to Ball State University's library in Muncie, Indiana, where she is called "The Naked Lady." For his 1964 version photographed here, Polasek used the same conceptual design that he used in 1924, but instead used the face and hairstyle of his wife, Emily Muska Kubat Polasek, as a model. This casting resides on the front lawn of the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, and another casting of the 1964 version is located at the Winter Park City Hall. The sculpture's plaque reads: "This statue was donated to the City of Winter Park by the world renowned sculptor Albin Polasek. Mr. Polasek’s many works reflect a gratitude and appreciation for God’s world and America. He loved Winter Park, which became his 'Florida paradise.' This statue, now dedicated to his memory, is a testimonial to that devotion. December, 1966." Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a woodcarver in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. After working in the Midwest for nearly four years, Polasek finally began his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910, Polasek won the Prix de Rome competition, spending three years at the American Academy of Art in Rome, Italy. Once he completed his studies in Rome, Polasek moved to New York City, New York, and set up a studio there. In 1916, the Art Institute of Chicago invited him to head its sculpture department, where he remained for nearly 30 years. In 1949, Polasek retired to Winter Park, Florida, building a home on Lake Osceola. In spite of suffering a stroke in 1950 that left him confined to a wheelchair and his left side paralyzed, Polasek continued to paint, draw, sculpt clay, and carve wood, creating a total of 18 major works before his death in 1965. In 1961, Polasek established the Polasek Foundation, designating his personal galleries, chapel, and gardens as a museum. Each year, thousands of local and international guests come to Winter Park to visit Polasek’s historic home and studio at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Polasek’s works can be found in Europe, all over the United States, and locally in Winter Park and Orlando.
Original sculpture: Polasek, Albin. Forest Idyl, 1964. Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida
European Village, an etching created by Jules André Smith. Born in 1880 to American parents in Hong Kong, raised in New York and Connecticut, and educated at Cornell University, J. André Smith worked for several years as an architect, never giving up on his first love of art. His early passion was printmaking, specifically etching. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. During World War I, Smith continued to work in both drawing and printmaking, selected as one of eight artists by the U.S. government to go to France in 1918 to record military activities. He would later publish those works in a book titled In France with the American Expeditionary Forces. While travelling to Miami in the 1930s, Smith made an unplanned stop in Maitland, Florida. Having experienced a stunning sunset on nearby Lake Sybelia, he decided to travel no further and would go on to build his winter home and studio here, which is now the Maitland Art Center. Frustrated and disappointed with the area’s lack of support for contemporary art, Smith began plans for a residential "Lab-Gallery" that would encourage artistic exploration and experimentation in a sheltered studio environment. The studio compound, later known as The Research Studio, was the winter residence of prominent American artists such as Ralston Crawford, David Burlick, Ernest Roth, Milton Avery, Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Hal McIntosh. André Smith’s vision continued to thrive for over two decades under the generous financial support from his patron, philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok. Smith’s legacy is alive and well today at the Art & History Museum’s Maitland Art Center through its residency programs and exhibitions.
Original etching: Smith, Jules André. European Village: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Artists Bill Orr and Maury Hurt. Both painters were instrumental in leading the movement to save the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, Florida, from developers in the 1960s. Bill Orr (1925-), photographed on the left, grew up in Michigan, where he worked breaking in mustang ponies. When World War II broke out, Orr joined the U.S. Army and was a member of the cavalry regiment. Later seeing action on Okinawa in the Pacific Theater, he was among the first servicemen to serve in Japan after the war. Orr found his way to the Research Studio in 1961 after applying for a position through a newspaper advertisement. As an artist, Orr made a living doing life-size portraits of horses. He would go on to establish himself as a leading equine artist, a tribute to his lifetime love of horses. Orlando native Maury Hurt (1934-2013), photographed on the right, graduated from the University of Florida with a design degree in 1956. After serving a short tour in the U.S. Army, Hurt continued to work in the graphic arts fields for several years before abandoning the profession to become a full-time painter. From a studio at the Art & History Museums' Maitland Art Center, Hurt’s work centered on primitive and archaic themes often focusing on the relationship of humans, animals, and early prehistoric life. Hurst's legacy lies in his masterful work and is mentorship of artists across Central Florida.
Original color photograph by Rob Bartlett: Orlando Weekly, Orlando, Florida.
Orlando Weekly