A WISTERIA WINDOW COMES HOME
‘View of Oyster Bay’ has never before been shown in Winter Park.
Louis Comfort Tiffany’s leaded-glass window View of Oyster Bay has moved more times than most people have. But it has arrived back home at The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art—at least for a little while—before its scheduled return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City sometime next summer.
The story of the window, which was created by Tiffany Studios in 1908, is as rich as its depiction of a beautiful lavender- and rose-colored sunrise. In fact, scholars consider View of Oyster Bay to be one of the true masterpieces of America’s Arts and Crafts Movement.
Hugh and Jeannette Genius McKean, co-founders of the Morse Museum, purchased the work from the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco (New York) in 1969 The church had received it as a donation seven years earlier but had no place to install it. So it sat in a crate, hidden from view—a situation that the McKeans, longtime stewards of Tiffany’s legacy, were determined to correct.
After all, in 1957 they had saved troves of priceless leaded glass and other works of art from Laurelton Hall, Tiffany’s estate on Long Island, after it was destroyed by fire and no one else seemed interested in salvaging the treasures that survived.
In 1978, the couple—who could display only a small fraction of their vast Tiffany collection at what was then the space-challenged Morse Gallery of Art on Welbourne Avenue—offered the columned loggia from Laurelton Hall to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for installation in the light-filled space of the American Wing’s Charles Engelhard Court.
At the same time, they loaned the museum View of Oyster Bay, which has since been viewed by millions of visitors. Because the wing is undergoing renovation this year, the 5-by-6-foot window is now on display at the Morse Museum.
View of Oyster Bay was originally commissioned by philanthropist Belle Skinner, sister to silk magnate William C. Skinner, for their Manhattan townhome at 36 East 38th Street. Skinner wrote in his diary that his sister was overseeing the redecoration of the foyer and stairway “and also putting in a wisteria window” at a cost of $3,000 (the equivalent to more than $100,000 today).
Wisteria’s prominence in the image was an homage to the Skinner family home, nicknamed “Wistariahurst,” in Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. That was where their father, also named William, had started the textile business, which by the early 20th century operated the largest silk mill under one roof in the country.
Tiffany’s vines—resplendent with magnificent blue blossoms and intricately composed leaves in variegated greens and yellows—may have been designed using his company’s vast library of horticulture patterns or inspired by actual plants from the lush gardens at Laurelton Hall.
Belle Skinner died of pneumonia in 1928 during a trip to France, where, following World War I, she had been instrumental in raising funds to rebuild the small town of Hattonchâtel. William sold the townhome and packed up the window, taking it with him back to Wistariahurst. But it wouldn’t remain there.
Following World War II, Skinner’s nephew, R. Stewart Kilborne, who had been president of the family’s textile firm, began cleaning out Wistariahurst. In 1959, he discovered the window in a crate sitting near the home’s old horse stables. The crate hadn’t been opened since arriving nineteen years earlier.
Kilborne knew enough not to toss it in the trash and in 1962 donated it to the Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, where it remained crated until the McKeans tracked it down. While in The Met’s custody, View of Oyster Bay has been on the road several times, including showings in Tallahassee and Sarasota.
While in Winter Park, the window will be part of the ongoing exhibition Revival & Reform: Eclecticism in the Nineteenth-Century Environment, which explores the diverse design of the period and the eclectic interiors that many homeowners preferred.
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art is located at 445 North Park Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call 407-645-5311 or visit morsemuseum.org.
—Richard Reep
VISUAL ARTS
Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. This lakeside museum, open since 1961, is dedicated to preserving works by the famed Czech sculptor for whom it was both home and studio for more than a decade. The museum offers tours of Polasek’s home Tuesdays to Saturdays. And it offers tours of the adjacent Capen-Showalter House three times weekly: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., and Saturdays at 10:15 a.m. Built in 1885, the Capen-Showalter House was saved from demolition several years ago and floated across Lake Osceola to its current location on the Polasek’s grounds. Continuing through April 13 is Wild at Heart: Environmental Sculptures by Paul Baliker, which showcases the contemporary Florida artist’s environmentally-themed sculptures, mostly in driftwood. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for students and free for children. 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park. 407-647-6294. polasek.org.
The Art & History Museums of Maitland. The Maitland Art Center, one of five museums that anchor the city’s Cultural Corridor, was founded as an art colony in 1937 by visionary artist and architect J. André Smith. The center, located at 231 West Packwood Avenue, Maitland, is Central Florida’s only National Historic Landmark and one of the few surviving examples of Mayan Revival architecture in the Southeast. Opening January 25 at the art center will be Future Nature: The Silent Conversations of Sinuhé Vega, a collection of paintings and ceramic sculptures that delve into themes of ecological and human fragility. Admission to the art center’s galleries is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students (ages 5 to 17) and free for children ages 4 and under. Maitland residents receive a $1 discount. The Cultural Corridor also includes the Maitland Historical Museum and Telephone Museum at 221 West Packwood Avenue, and the Waterhouse Residence Museum and Carpentry Shop Museum, both built in the 1880s and located at 820 Lake Lily Drive. 407-539-2181. artandhistory.org.
Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. With more than 19,000 square feet of gallery and public space, the Morse houses the world’s most important collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany creations, including jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass and an entire chapel interior originally designed and built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In celebration of the chapel’s 25th anniversary at the museum are two exhibits: After the Fair, which charts its incredible journey from Chicago to Winter Park; and Fathers of the Church, a glass mosaic on loan from The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass that was also crafted for the Columbian Exposition. Opening March 4 will be two new exhibitions: Arts & Letters, which explores the art of letter-writing; and World’s Fairs Vignette, a turn-of-the-century display that includes glass, art pottery and furniture as well as world’s fair ephemera. Other current exhibitions are View of Oyster Bay, a notable example of Tiffany’s artistry in leaded glass that has been on extended loan from the Morse to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; The American Arts & Crafts Movement, which features distinctive furniture, metalwork and design created during the turn of last century; and Fascinating Clutter: American Taste During the Reign of Victoria, which explores the rich, romantic aesthetic landscape of the 19th century and how industry, expansion and war influenced personal and artistic expression. Also on view are Lamps & Lighting: Tiffany and His Contemporaries, a showcase of Tiffany’s most innovative and iconic designs; and Vignette, a collection of décor items from the Ayer Mansion in Chicago, one of Tiffany’s most complete residential design commissions. Another ongoing exhibition is Revival & Reform: Eclecticism in the 19th-Century Environment, which provides a rare look at the diversity of decorative arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with pieces by Tiffany, William Morris, Frank Lloyd Wright and others. Additional displays include Watercolors from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s “Little Arcadia,” which invites visitors to look beyond Tiffany’s legacy to discover the gifts of other talented artists—especially women—who worked in his studios. Regular admission to the museum is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $1 for students and free for children younger than age 12. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. 445 North Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-645-5311. morsemuseum.org.
Crealdé School of Art. Established in 1975, this nonprofit arts organization on Winter Park’s east side offers year-round visual-arts classes for all ages taught by more than 40 working artists. Visitors may take a self-guided tour through the campus’s lakeside sculpture garden, which includes more than 60 pieces of contemporary outdoor art and related educational panels. Continuing through January 25 is From Common Clay, which features ceramics by Iranian Raheleh Filsoofi and Ghanaian Eric André. Next up will be Converging Realities: P.J. Svejda, an exhibition of recent works by the artist and environmental activist that will be on view from February 7 to May 3. Admission to the school’s galleries is free, although there are fees for art classes. 600 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park. 407-671-1886. crealde.org.
Rollins Museum of Art. The Rollins College campus is home to one of the most eclectic collections of fine art in Florida, including ancient artifacts, contemporary collections and Central Florida’s only collection of paintings by European Old Masters. Continuing through May 11 is Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning Through Portraiture, which examines how paintings of people can influence perceptions of their subjects and tell stories of their historical context. Three new exhibitions will open January 18: Art Encounters: Rethinking My Relationship to the Land, a selection of works from the collection that address human-driven climate change; Classical Refractions: The Legacy of Antiquity in Visual Culture, which explores how artists from the Renaissance to modern day have utilized the techniques and themes of their ancient Greek and Roman predecessors; and Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection, which demonstrates the ways children perceive, interpret and evaluate works of art. Guided tours take place at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays at the nearby Alfond Inn, where a selection of more than 400 works is on view from the museum’s Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. Happy Hour tours of the Alfond Collection are also conducted on the first Wednesday of most months at 5:30 p.m. If you prefer historic works, Throwback Thursday tours are offered at the museum from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of most months. Admission is free, courtesy of PNC Financial Services Group. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407-646-2526. rollins.edu/rma.
Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Art. Eatonville is strongly associated with Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, who lived there as a girl and recorded her childhood memories in her classic autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. The museum that bears her name provides information about the historic city and sponsors exhibitions that feature the works of African American artists. Work by Atlanta printmaker Jerushia Graham is showcased during an exhibition that will run through October. Graham is the Artist-in-Residence at the Maitland Art Center. 344 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville. Admission is usually free, although group tours require a reservation and require a charge. 407-647-3307. zoranealehurstonmuseum.com.
PERFORMING ARTS
Annie Russell Theatre. “The Annie,” on the campus of Rollins College and in operation since 1932, will continue its 92nd season with the 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist Everybody (February 20 to 23) by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins—a modern, satirical take on the 15th-century morality play Everyman. The season will conclude with Michael Gore’s Carrie: The Musical, based on Stephen King’s legendary horror novel (April 24 to 27). Curtain times are 7:30 p.m., 4 p.m. or 2 p.m., depending upon the day of the week. Individual tickets are $25. 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park. 407-646-2145. rollins.edu/annie-russell-theatre.
Winter Park Playhouse. Winter Park’s only professional, nonprofit theaterwill continue its 2024-25 season with The Bikinis (January 24 to February 22), about the reunion of a girl group from the 1960s that features hits from the era; Gigolo: The New Cole Porter Revue (March 14 to April 12), which uses the composer’s iconic songs to tell the story of an international playboy and his relationships with four beautiful women; and Route 66 (May 9 to June 8), a musical journey across the country set to pop favorites from the 1950s and 1960s. Performances are Thursdays to Sundays, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets range in price from $20 for students to $46 for evening shows. 711 Orange Avenue, Winter Park. 407-645-0145. winterparkplayhouse.org.
FILM
Enzian. This cozy, nonprofit alternative cinema offers a plethora of film series. Tickets are usually $12 for regular admission; $10 for matinees, students, seniors and service members (with ID); and $9.50 for Enzian Film Society members. Children under age 12 are admitted free to Peanut Butter Matinee Family Films, shown on the fourth Sunday of each month at noon. Other series include Saturday Matinee Classics (the second Saturday of each month at noon), Cult Classics (the second and last Tuesday of each month at 9:30 p.m.) and Midnight Movies (every Saturday night). FilmSlam, which spotlights Florida-made short films, takes place most months on the second or third Sunday at 1 p.m. 300 South Orlando Avenue, Maitland. 407-629-0054 (information line), 407-629-1088 (theater offices). enzian.org.
Friday Brown Bag Matinees. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art presents three film series each year on topics related to the museum’s collection as well as art in general. Admission is free to these lunchtime screenings, which span the noon hour on select Fridays in the Jeannette G. and Hugh F. McKean Pavilion on Canton Avenue, just behind the Morse. The four-part winter series centers around world’s fairs with documentaries about the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (Building the Eiffel Tower, January 24); Nicola Tesla’s lighting, which illuminated the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Tesla, January 31); and the entirety of the Chicago World’s Fair, from the Court of Honor to the Midway Plaisance (Expo: Magic of the White City, February 14 and 21). Attendees are invited to bring their own lunches; the museum provides soft drinks and themed refreshments. 161 West Canton Avenue. 407-645-5311. morsemuseum.org.
Popcorn Flicks in the Park. The City of Winter Park and Enzian collaborate to offer classic, family-friendly films free in Central Park on Park Avenue. These outdoor screenings are typically held the second Thursday of each month and start at 7 or 8 p.m. Don’t forget to pack a picnic and bring blankets or chairs. 407-629-1088. enzian.org.
HISTORY
Casa Feliz Historic Home & Venue. This stunningly restored Spanish farmhouse-style home, designed by acclaimed architect James Gamble Rogers II, is now a community center and museum. Free open houses are hosted by docents on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon. 656 North Park Avenue (adjacent to the Winter Park Golf Course), Winter Park. 407-628-8200. casafeliz.us.
Hannibal Square Heritage Center. Established in 2007 by the Crealdé School of Art in partnership with residents of Hannibal Square and the City of Winter Park, the center celebrates the city’s historically African American west side with hundreds of archival photographs, original artwork and oral histories from longtime residents that are collectively known as the Heritage Collection. The center also offers a walking tour of Hannibal Square, Now and Then, with Fairolyn Livingston, chief historian. Tours, which are offered on the third Saturday of each month from 10 to 11:30 a.m., require reservations; the cost is $10, or $5 for those with student IDs. 642 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. 407-539-2680. hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org.
Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. The center is dedicated to combating anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice, with the goal of developing a moral and just community through educational and cultural programs, permanent and temporary exhibitions, archives and a research library. Opening January 16 will be Escape Denied: The Frank Family’s Struggle for Freedom, which uses personal letters, official documents and family photographs to chronicle the unsuccessful attempts of Anne Frank’s family to emigrate and escape Nazi-occupied Europe. The museum’s ongoing exhibition, Tribute to the Holocaust, is a presentation of artifacts, videos, text, photographs and other works of art. Admission is free. 851 North Maitland Avenue, Maitland. 407-628-0555. holocaustedu.org.
Winter Park History Museum. The museum’s current exhibition, Hello Sunshine: Selling Florida Through the Art of Postcards, offers a colorful look at local history through vintage postcards from the collection of Rick Frazee, owner of the fondly remembered Best Western Mount Vernon Inn, who gifted more than 1,000 fun and kitschy images to the museum. In late January or early February, a new exhibition, The Architecture of Rollins College, will debut. Admission is free. 200 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-2330. wphistory.org.
LECTURES
Central Florida Anthropological Society. Do you want to preserve Florida’s historic heritage? Are you curious about prehistoric Florida? Join the CFAS for this new lecture series at the Winter Park Library that will highlight current anthropological and archaeological investigations with a special focus on Central Florida. Upcoming dates are January 20, February 17 and March 17. Enjoy light refreshments and socializing when the doors open at 6:30 p.m., followed by a presentation at 7 p.m. Admission is free. 1050 West Morse Boulevard, Winter Park. cfasorlando.com.
Life Explorers Speakers Series. Hosted by Mead Botanical Garden, this new speaker series will feature programs for adults interested in expanding their knowledge on a variety of environmental and cultural topics. Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month; upcoming dates are January 26, February 20 and March 20. Admission is free. 1300 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 407-622-6323. meadgarden.org.
Morse Museum Wednesday Lecture Series. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art regularly invites recognized scholars in the field of late 19th- and early 20th-century art to speak on topics related to the museum’s collection and exhibitions. Call or check the website for upcoming dates and subjects. Programs take place at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. 161 West Canton Avenue, Winter Park. 407-645-5311. morsemuseum.org.
University Club of Winter Park. Nestled among the oaks and palms at the north end of Park Avenue’s downtown shopping district—a block beyond Casa Feliz—is another historic James Gamble Rogers II building, this one home to the University Club of Winter Park. Members are dedicated to the enjoyment of intellectual activities and socializing with one another. The club’s various activities, including lectures, are open to the public, although nonmembers are asked to make a $5 donation each time they attend. (Some events include a buffet lunch for an added fee.) For a full schedule of events and speakers, check the website. 841 North Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-6149. uclubwp.org.
Arthur Brooks on Build the Life You Want: How to Get Happier in an Unhappy World. The reconstituted Winter Park Institute will present bestselling author Arthur Brooks, who is also an acclaimed public speaker and professor of management practice at Harvard University. Brooks will reveal how to find happiness in a world rife with loneliness and political polarization by understanding the fundamentals of “happiness science” and sharing this understanding with others. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. at Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center. Tickets start at $40. winterparkinstitute.org.
MUSIC
Bach Festival The 90th annual Bach Festival, a program of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, will run from February 15 to March 2 and feature a monthlong assortment of concerts. The festival will open with George Frideric Handel’s Cantata La eurozone, HWV 47 (February 15, 7:30 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel), which will encompass an ensemble of the orchestra and featured vocalists Stephen Mumbert (bass) as Lucifer; Anna Eschbach (soprano) as an Angel; and John Grau (tenor) as John the Baptist, all of whom are faculty members at Rollins. Mary Wilson (soprano), an associate professor of voice at the University of Memphis, will sing the role of Mary Magdaline, while Meg Bragle (mezzo-soprano), an artist in residence at the University of Pennsylvania, will sing the role of Mary Cleophas. The La resurrezione, written in 1708 and the first of Handel’s nearly 30 oratorios, recounts events between (and during) Good Friday and Easter Sunday. When it debuted in Rome, where Handel then lived, Pope Clement XI was scandalized to see a woman singing the role of Mary Magdaline—female singers were prohibited by papal edict—and insisted that a castrato sing the role in subsequent performances. The Visiting Artist Series will continue with The King’s Singers (February 16, 3 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel). The world-renowned, all-male British a cappella group performed at the Bach Festival to great acclaim in 2023. Next will be the finals of the Bach Festival’s previously referenced American National Oratorio Competition, which was opened to singers who don’t yet have managers but are interested in the oratorio repertoire. The highly credentialed judges—three of whom were singers in La resurrezione, joined by Grammy-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton—reviewed more than 100 video entries. Eight finalists will be brought to Winter Park to participate in coaching sessions, masterclasses, rehearsals and an in-person showcase. The competition will culminate with a free, open-to-the-public concert featuring all eight finalists accompanied by an ensemble of the orchestra (February 20, 7 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel). The first-prize winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and future solo engagements with Bach Society and the Messiah Choral Society of Orlando. There’s also a second prize, a third prize and an audience favorite award. And speaking of Dashon Burton, he’s up next as part of the Insights & Sounds series with Dashon Burton, Brick by Brick: Changing America by Song (February 18, 7:30 p.m., Tiedtke Concert Hall), during which the Grammy-winning bass-baritone will perform everything from classical music to African spirituals to protest songs from the mid-20th century. Burton, an assistant professor of voice at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, performed as a Bach Festival soloist last in Sanctuary Road, which librettist Mark Campbell created using slave narratives published in 1872. Continuing the concerts will be the Bach Vocal Artists, along with members of the choir and orchestra, performing Bach’s Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 (February 21, 7:30 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel). Since excerpts were part of the program at the first Bach Festival, you might consider it an anniversary homage—but the choir and orchestra subsequently performed the entire piece several times, first in 1940. The Bach Vocal Artists, this time sans choir and orchestra, will return for a performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C, Opus 86; and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 (February 22, 7:30 p.m. and February 23, 3 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel). Soloists will include Meg Dudley (soprano), Amanda Crider (mezzo-soprano), Kyle Stegall (tenor) and Joseph Trumbo (bass). Then, how about a tour around the world? Next up will be A Musical Travelogue (February 28, 7:30 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel), which will feature works by George Gershwin, Johannes Brahms, Franz von Suppé, Aaron Copland and others. The program will feature the choir and orchestra as well as the Bach Festival Youth Choir. You’ll experience the romance of the Danube, the mystique of Fingal’s Cave and the vibrant energy of the Seine as well as the charm of our own hometown, when composer Michael Creighton, a graduate of Winter Park High School and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, debuts his Winter Park Fanfare. The Bach Festival’s final musical event is another installment in The Choral Masterworks Series, Brahms’s German Requiem, Opus 45; and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Opus 23 (March 1, 7:30 p.m., and March 2, 3 p.m., Knowles Memorial Chapel). Additional educational activities will include guest lectures, master classes and other special events. In residence during the festival will be musicologist Jan Swafford, the authoritative biographer of Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart and a commentator on NPR and the BBC. Swafford’s schedule had not been finalized at press time. For locations and ticket information, call 407-646-2182 or visit bachfestival.org.
Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts. This eclectic venue, which is currently retrofitting the old Winter Park Library for use as a performance venue, is temporarily offering live performances at other venues until the new facility is complete. For a full schedule of events and location and news about the grand reopening, check the website. Admission generally ranges from free to $25. 460 East New England Ave, Winter Park. 407-636-9951. bluebambooartcenter.com.
Candlelight Concerts at Mead Garden. Enjoy live music by candlelight in Mead Botanical Garden’s Azalea Lodge. String quartets will perform a selection of works by a particular artist or dedicated to a special theme. Upcoming dates are January 5 (Best of Hip-Hop on Strings), January 10 (Queen vs. ABBA), January 19 (The Best of Hans Zimmer) and January 24 (The Best of the Beatles) at 7 p.m. Ticket prices start at $46. 1300 South Denning Drive, Winter Park. 407-622-6323, meadgarden.org.
Central Florida Folk. This Winter Park-based nonprofit is dedicated to promoting and preserving live folk music, primarily through concerts usually held on the last Saturday of each month (unless a holiday intervenes) at 2 p.m. Upcoming dates are January 26, February 23 and March 30. The group’s primary venue is the Winter Park Library, 1052 West Morse Boulevard, Winter Park. A donation of $15 for nonmembers is suggested. 407-679-6426. cffolk.org.
Music at the Casa. The Casa Feliz Historic Home and Venue presents acoustic performances on most Sunday afternoons in the museum’s cozy main parlor. Past performers include opera singers, jazz guitarists and flamenco dancers. All shows run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and admission is free, although reservations are required. A $5 donation is suggested. Upcoming dates are October 13, November 10 and December 8. 656 North Park Avenue (adjacent to the Winter Park Golf Course), Winter Park. 407-628-8200. casafeliz.us.
Performing Arts Matter. This nonprofit organization collaborates with various organizations to promote performances for and by local musicians. It supports various groups, including the Maitland Symphony Orchestra, Maitland Market Music, the Maitland Stage Band, the Bravo Chamber Orchestra and the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. For a full schedule of events, call 321-303-1711 or visit pamatter.org.
MARKETS
Maitland Farmers’ Market. This year-round, open-air market—held each Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.—features fresh produce, seafood, breads and cheeses as well as plants, all-natural skin-care products and live music by Performing Arts of Maitland. The setting on Lake Lily boasts a boardwalk, jogging trails, a playground and picnic areas. 701 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland. itsmymaitland.com.
Winter Park Farmers’ Market. The region’s busiest and arguably most popular farmers’ market is held every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Central Park West Meadow—located at the corner of New York Avenue and Morse Boulevard—and offers baked goods, produce, plants, honey, cheese, meat, flowers, crafts and other specialty items. After shopping, make a morning of it with a stroll along nearby Park Avenue. Dogs are welcome to bring their people. 200 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. cityofwinterpark.org.
WRITING
Orlando Writers Group. Join fellow scribes for lectures by guest speakers and discussions led by local authors. The local chapter of the Florida Writers Association meets on the second Thursday of each month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Upcoming meetings are January 9, February 13 and March 13 at the Maitland Public Library, 501 South Maitland Avenue, Maitland. floridawriters.org.
Storytellers of Central Florida. Experienced and fledgling storytellers gather to share stories and practice their craft on the first Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Winter Park Library. Upcoming meetings are January 7, February 4 and March 4. 1052 West Morse Boulevard, Winter Park. 321-439-6020. storytellersofcentralflorida.com.
Wednesday Open Words. One of the area’s longest-running open-mic poetry nights is held every Wednesday, 9 p.m. at Austin’s Coffee, 929 West Fairbanks Avenue, Winter Park. 407-975-3364. austins-coffee.com.
Writers of Central Florida or Thereabouts. This group offers various free programs that attract writers of all stripes. Short Attention Span Storytelling Hour, a literary open-mic night, meets at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of most months at Stardust Coffee (1842 Winter Park Road, Winter Park). It’s for authors, poets, filmmakers, comedians, musicians, bloggers and others who enjoy creative pursuits. Upcoming meetings are January 8, February 12 and March 12. Orlando WordLab, a workshop that challenges writers to experiment with new techniques or methods, meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Winter Park Library (1052 West Morse Boulevard, Winter Park). Upcoming meetings are set for January 22, February 26 and March 26. meetup.com/
writers-of-central-florida-or-thereabouts.
BUSINESS
Connections. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce at local eateries, Connections provides local businesspeople and entrepreneurs an opportunity to network, socialize and share ideas. Held the fourth Wednesday of most months, upcoming events are January 22, February 19 and March 26 (locations TBA). Admission is $35 for members and $50 for nonmembers. 407-599-3580. winterpark.org/connections.
Good Morning, Winter Park. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, these gatherings feature coffee and conversation about community issues. Held the first Friday of most months, upcoming events are January 10, February 7 and March 7. Networking begins at 8:45 a.m. followed at 9:15 a.m. by a 45-minute program. Admission, which includes coffee, is free, but registration is required. Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407-599-3580. winterpark.org/good-morning-winter-park.
Winter Park Professional Women. Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, these meetings—held the first Monday of most months from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.—feature guest speakers and provide networking opportunities for women business owners. Topics are related to leadership development, business growth and local initiatives of special interest to women. Upcoming events are January 6, February 3 and March 3. Tickets, which include lunch, are $25 for chamber members and $35 for nonmembers. Reservations are required. Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. 407-599-3580. winterpark.org/winter-park-professional-women.
NATURE
Keep Winter Park Beautiful. Volunteer to help the city keep local watersheds beautiful all season long with cleanups held throughout the year. Call or check the website for dates and locations. Litter grabbers, safety vests, gloves and garbage bags are provided at City Hall, 151 West Lyman Avenue, Winter Park. Volunteers should contact kwpb@cityofwinterpark.org for more details and to complete a waiver. 407-599-3364. cityofwinterpark.org.
Winter Park Garden Club. The club’s general membership meetings, which always offer something intriguing for lovers of gardening and the great outdoors, are typically held on the second Wednesday of each month from September to May at 10 a.m. Field trips and other community events are also held throughout the year. All meetings are at the club’s headquarters at 1300 South Denning Drive. For more information about the club, which was founded in 1922, and upcoming programs, call 407-644-5770, check winterparkgardenclub.com or email winterparkgc100@gmail.com.
CAUSES
CoffeeTalk. These free gatherings, sponsored by the City of Winter Park, are held on the first Thursday of most months and offer residents an opportunity to discuss issues of concern with local officials. Coffee is supplied by Barnie’s Coffee Kitchen. Upcoming dates are January 9, February 6 and March 6. The hourlong sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall, 401 South Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-8281. cityofwinterpark.org.
Love, Your Library Gala. Treat your friends and family to an extraordinary night at the Winter Park Library and Events Center on February 8. This semiformal VIP event will feature top-shelf libations, silent auction packages, a delicious feast by Arthur’s Catering and live music by the Summer Breeze Band. Individual tickets are $200. 1052 West Morse Boulevard, Winter Park. 407-623-3277. jlazar@winterparklibrary.org.
CELEBRATIONS & EVENTS
St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Ready to celebrate the wearing o’ the green? Central Florida’s only St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held Saturday, March 1 at 9 a.m. This year’s annual parade will feature more than 75 marching units, which will gather at the Winter Park Country Club and march south along Park Avenue through the city’s signature shopping district to Lyman Avenue. 407-599-3334. cityofwinterpark.org. St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Cheers to You! The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce will host an evening of cocktails, dinner and awards as it recognizes important contributions to the community and names the Lydia Gardner Citizen of the Year. The annual event, sponsored by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, will be presented January 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Winter Park Events Center. Tickets prices had not been announced at press time. 407-599-3580.
winterpark.org/cheers-to-you.
Unity Heritage Festival. This year’s 23rd annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will promote family history while raising funds for programs that assist economically disadvantaged youth. The event, slated for January 19 and 20 in Hannibal Square’s Shady Park, will feature live music, concessions, speakers and various activities. Admission is free. 721 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. 407-599-3334. cityofwinterpark.org.
Arts Weekend. Sure, you know that Winter Park’s slogan is the City of Culture and Heritage. But even if you’re a lifelong resident, you might not know about all the arts-oriented amenities that are available within the charming small city’s boundaries. That’s something the Winter Park Arts & Culture Alliance is seeking to correct with its 2025 Arts Weekend, a four-day arts extravaganza that will promote the offerings of 22 member organizations and feature special events and performances. The official kickoff will come February 20, at the state-of-the-art Center for Health & Wellbeing at 2005 Mizell Avenue. There’ll be a keynote speech that will extol the undeniable interdependence of arts activities and good health at 6:30 p.m. Then, with our attitudes thus adjusted, we’ll be ready for a packed weekend. On February 21, enjoy Big Band Spirituals—a free musical performance by the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park—while lounging on a blanket or chair in Central Park on Park Avenue. Admission is free and showtime is 6:30 p.m. On February 22, head back to Central Park and immerse yourself at Art in the Park. There’ll be live performances and interactive arts activities between 1 and 4 p.m. Then on February 23, experience the city’s abundance of museums, gardens and theatrical and musical venues throughout the city. Special programming and discounts will be offered at alliance member locations. Arts Weekend is hosted by the Winter Park Arts & Culture Alliance, which is affiliated with the city, and presented by the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and AdventHealth Winter Park. For a full event schedule and an up-to-the-minute list of participating businesses, visit wpinsoires.org.
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. Among the oldest, largest and most prestigious juried outdoor art festivals in the U.S., the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival will celebrate its 66th year from March 21 to 23. The event, which will showcase more than 200 artists selected from more than 1,000 applicants, is expected to draw more than 350,000 visitors to Central Park along Park Avenue. In addition to works in a variety of media—painting, sculpture, photography, graphics, fiber, leather, wood, glass and jewelry—there will be kid-friendly activities in the Children’s Workshop Village and an exhibition of student art from Orange County public and private schools. There are also dozens of food and drink concessions and live entertainment. Festival hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission will be free. wpsaf.org.
ZORA! Festival of the Arts. The 36th year of the ZORA! Festival of the Arts, honoring home-grown folklorist and author Zora Neale Hurston, will be held January 31 and February 1 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and February 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See page 86.) The festival—with its food, music, vendors and art displays—draws up to 70,000 people and sprawls throughout downtown Eatonville along Kennedy Boulevard. The free event is sponsored by the Association to Preserve Eatonville Community (P.E.C.). Visit zorafestival.org.
RACES
Park Avenue 5K. The fourth race in the Track Shack Running Series, slated for January 18, will start and finish on Park Avenue. In between, it will wend its way for 3.1 miles through beautiful neighborhoods surrounding downtown Winter Park. The 5K race will start at 7:30 a.m. Registration will be $50 through January 17 and $55 on race day. Central Park, 251 South Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-896-1160. trackshack.com.
Run 4 Love 4 Mile. This February 8 run is for those in love with running or walking— perhaps with one another. The 4-mile run or walk will start at 7:30 a.m., followed by a Kids’ Run at 9 a.m., a costume contest and awards presentations. Registration for this, the fifth race in the Track Shack Running Series, will be $42 to $47 through February 7 and $55 on race day. Showalter East Field, 250 Perth Lane, Winter Park. trackshack.com.
48th Winter Park Road Race. This March 15 event, the final race of the annual Track Shack Running Series, will feature a route through tree-canopied roads and historic neighborhoods. Activities will include a 10K (6.2-mile) race at 7:30 a.m., as well as a 2-mile race at 7 a.m. and a Kids’ Run at 9 a.m. Registration for the 10K will be $45 to $55 through March 14 and $60 on race day. Central Park, 251 South Park Avenue, Winter Park. trackshack.com.
EATONVILLE’S BLOSSOMING ARTS ALLIANCES
In the opening paragraphs of her 1942 autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, acclaimed author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston introduced readers to her Central Florida hometown, Eatonville.
“Time and place have had their say,” wrote Hurston. “So you will have to know something about the time and place where I came from, in order that you may interpret the incidents and directions of my life.”
Beginning in January, the place that helped shape this gifted young girl into the gifted and independent woman that she would become will host the 36th year of the ZORA! Festival Season, which will run through October under the sponsorship of the Association to Preserve Eatonville Community (P.E.C.).
The high-profile highlight of the season will be the annual weekend-long ZORA! Festival of the Arts, held this year on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1 and 2 in Eatonville, which is among the first (and now the oldest) incorporated township for Blacks in the United States.
The festival—with its food, music, vendors and art displays—draws up to 70,000 people and sprawls throughout the downtown area along Kennedy Boulevard. But, apart from the festival, the season’s overarching theme will focus on “placemaking,” a planning concept that promotes the creation of public spaces that improve urban vitality and promote the health, happiness and well-being of residents.
P.E.C. is embarking on a five-year cycle of placemaking activities in part by forging partnerships with two major regional arts organizations—the Art & History Museums of Maitland (A&H) and Opera Orlando—to help it form a basis for ongoing discussion and to affirm the town’s historic significance.
“The themes resonate with a place like Eatonville because Eatonville is a place of destiny, a place of vision,” says P.E.C. Executive Director N.Y. Nathiri. She adds that collaborations such as those with A&H and Opera Orlando can enhance her organization’s mission by celebrating Hurston and highlighting cultural contributions from the entire African Diaspora.
MAITLAND CONNECTIONS
The histories of Maitland and Eatonville are inexorably linked, which may be unexpected for a bustling suburban bedroom community and a Reconstruction-era self-governed township founded for freed Blacks. In fact, the contiguous communities even share founders in common.
“Our relationship with P.E.C. arose very naturally,” says A&H Executive Director Danielle Thomas. (A&H is an umbrella organization that stewards the operation of four local museums including the Maitland Art Center and the Maitland History Museum.) “We want to honor the joint roots of our communities.”
So the Maitland Art Center now offers a six-week residency through its artist-in-residence program for a creator specifically chosen by the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Art. Work by this year’s selected artist, Atlanta printmaker Jerushia Graham, will be showcased at the Hurston Museum during an exhibition that will run from January through October.
Graham’s appointment follows that of Ugandan-born artist Louise Deininger in 2024, which was also made in consultation with P.E.C. Going forward, the art center’s first artist-in-residence each year will be someone selected by the Hurston Museum.
In fact, André Smith, who established the other-worldly facility as an artists’ colony in 1937, was a friend of Hurston’s who frequently painted scenes of the aptly named “Town that Freedom Built.” Hurston even discussed with Smith the idea of a “Folklore Village” in Eatonville, about which nothing survives except a conceptual drawing made by Smith.
Graham, a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a longtime fan of Hurston’s, came to know the Hurston Museum when she was invited to curate an exhibition there in 2016. Growing up on military bases from Kansas to Germany, she has come to associate place with relationships.
“Empathy has been the focus of my work for many years,” she says. “This show is a combination of a few series that have interconnectedness and the perseverance of hope as their fundamental message. We make place by connecting with one another.”
The connections between Eatonville and Maitland are also explored at another A&H institution, the Maitland History Museum. There, in a permanent exhibition entitled Maitland’s Attic, you’ll find a section that tells the story of how a former slave, Joseph E. Clarke, worked in the groves owned by Josiah C. Eaton, a white man, and purchased enough acreage to form “a colony for colored people” by 1882.
Here’s how the plan unfolded: Eaton, a former Union Naval officer, sold 20 acres of land to his friend Lewis Lawrence, a wealthy retired timber magnate, who in turn subdivided the land and sold lots on favorable credit terms to African Americans, including Clarke and Allen Rickets. The community that developed was at first known as “Lawrence,” but in 1887 was incorporated as Eatonville.
OPERA AND EDUCATION
Opera Orlando began planning the production of ragtime composer Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha two years ago. Completed in 1910, but not fully staged until 1972, it’s a lesser known but important work that contributed to Joplin’s posthumously being awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1976.
The production is slated for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 16, 17 and 18 at various times in the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at Dr. Phillips Center. It’s an Opera on the MainStage season add-on that tells the story of a young African American woman who lives on a plantation in the Reconstruction Era.
The woman, named Treemonisha—sung by internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Taylor-Alexis DuPont—leads her community away from the old ways and toward an understanding of education as the cornerstone of freedom.
“The opera has a message of community, of people coming around Treemonisha and realizing we’re better together than we are apart,” says Opera Orlando General Director Gabriel Preisser. When the company decided to present it, he contacted Nathiri about a cross-promotional partnership with P.E.C.
Consequently, the two organizations will co-present a series of three programs during the lead-up to Treemonisha, including “Spirituals and Sopranos” (Thursday, January 30, 6 p.m., Broadway United Methodist Church, 406 East Amelia Street, Orlando).
The lecturer will be Curtis Rayam, assistant professor of music at Bethune-Cookman University and adjunct professor of voice at Rollins College who sang the role of “Remus” in Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed 1976 production of Treemonisha.
The second event in the trio is “Lineage and Legacy: Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha,” (Thursday, February 20, 6:30 p.m., Orange County Regional History Museum, 65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando). The lineup of presenters had not been confirmed at press time, but Preisser hopes to assemble a group of cast members and others involved in the production.
A third event, “Women in Education” (Thursday, March 13, 6:30 p.m., Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center), will focus on Hurston and her collection of folk music as represented in her book Mules and Men. The program will be based on scholarship by ethnomusicologist Portia K. Maultsby, who is also a professor emerita at Indiana University Bloomington. (Maultsby’s attendance had not been confirmed at press time.)
March is Women’s Education Month, which by itself makes the presentation applicable and worthwhile. More specifically, however, the theme of Treemonisha is the value of education as a tool against oppression. All three of these events are free and open to the public.
The Hurston Museum is located at 344 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville. For more information about the Graham exhibition, call 407-647-3307 or visit zoranealehurstonmuseum.com.
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information about Treemonisha, call 407-512-1900 or visit operaorlando.org. The Hurston Museum is located at 344 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville.
For more information about the Jerushia Graham exhibition, call 407-647-3307 or visit zoranealehurstonmuseum.com. For more information about the ZORA! Season and the ZORA! Festival of the Arts, visit zorafestival.org.
—Catherine Hinman
ARTIST P.J. SVEJDA AND HER PEACEABLE KINGDOM
P.J. Svejda has earned recognition for her narrative paintings that illustrate ideas of coexistence between humans, animals and the planet that they share. Many of her works juxtapose contemporary images of strong women with endangered wildlife.
You’ll get the message at Converging Realities: P.J. Svejda, an exhibition of recent works that will be on view from February 7 to May 3 at the Crealdé School of Art. There’ll be displays at both the Alice & William Jenkins Gallery on the main campus and a satellite gallery at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Visiting Exhibition Gallery.
“We’re excited to bring P.J. Svejda to Crealdé,” says Emily Bourmas-Fry, executive director of Crealdé. “Her profound emotional connection to nature comes through in every painting—and we’ll be able to share fresh new work in this show.”
Svejda—a former illustrator who graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design—leads the Studio ArtFarm in Mount Dora. There she and her faculty hold classes, host exhibits and maintain studios while promoting animal rights, human rights and conservation of the state’s fragile natural resources.
“Expressing myself through art has given me a platform to speak on the issues that are important to me without the anxiety of a heated debate,” she says. “The hope is that my art is inspiring enough to help people consider the way we share this planet and love its beauty.”
Since 2019 Svejda has held seven solo exhibitions, including runs at the Axiom Gallery in Winter Park and the Grand Bohemian in Orlando. Her work has been selected for 20 group shows, including one at the world-renowned Art Basel in Miami. And she has created a permanent mural (of a puma) at the Valencia College Osceola Campus.
In 2020, Svejda opened Studio ArtFarm. “We’re going for the whole grange vibe with local animal rescues and community gardens,” she says. The farm metaphor, she adds, is a 21st-century update to pop-art icon Andy Warhol’s urban “Art Factory” founded in the mid-1960s.
Svejda’s goal with Converging Realities is to raise awareness of Central Florida’s Wildlife Corridor, a statewide network of nearly 18 million acres of connected lands and waters supporting wildlife and people. “Our time on earth is so short,” she says. “Through my art I tell stories of pain and hope to raise the viewer’s self-awareness of their own humanity.”
Converging Realities will debut with a reception for the artist—who’ll also discuss her work—on Friday, February 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the main campus. A second reception, this one with live music, will run from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Heritage Center. Both events are free and open to the public.
Crealdé School of Art is located at 600 St. Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park. The Hannibal Square Heritage Center is located at 642 West New England Avenue, also in Winter Park. For more information, call 407-671-1886 or visit crealde.org.
—Richard Reep
NO MORE DISLOCATION DRAMA AT PLAYHOUSE
One of the region’s smallest but most highly regarded community theaters recently pulled off what, at first, seemed like a longshot—a happy ending with a soon-to-be permanent home.
An $8 million infusion for The Winter Park Playhouse from Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax has ended nearly two years of angst and uncertainty over whether or not the nonprofit theater’s signature fun and frothy onstage romps could continue.
“It’s a relief from that impending doom and fear of the unknown,” says Heather Alexander, co-founder and executive director of the 22-year-old theater, which specializes in musicals and cabarets and offers special programming for at-risk children and seniors in life-care communities.
Plot twists make for good stage shows, but not so much for running arts organizations. Alexander learned in early 2023 that the theater’s lease would end because the building’s owner planned to sell the property.
For months, Alexander, along with Artistic Director Roy Alan—her husband and the theater’s co-founder—searched for a new home. Winter Park’s City Commission, hoping to keep the theater in town, even mulled over the possibility of building a new facility at Seven Oaks Park, now taking shape at the corner of Orange Avenue and Denning Drive.
But when those plans didn’t work out, boosters began down a different path. City leaders joined with the theater to apply for funding from the tourist development tax set aside for arts and cultural projects. The grant was approved by the Orange County Commission in October. “As soon as they said it was unanimous, I just burst into tears,” says Alexander.
Under the deal, the city will purchase the building and enter into a long-term lease with the theater, which each season presents a half-dozen mainstage musical productions and monthly cabaret performances, as well as the annual Florida Festival of New Musicals.
A portion of the money will also be used to renovate the building, enlarge the stage and upgrade the lobby, bathrooms and administrative spaces. Plus, there could also be as many as an additional 60 seats for the theater, which currently has a capacity of 123.
Alexander says the changes will allow the group to grow without eroding its ambiance. “We’ll still maintain the intimacy, which is very important to our patronage,” she notes. “We don’t want it to become a sterile, commercial space.”
Work is expected to begin after the current season ends in June. The 2025–26 season will take place on a temporary stage while construction is underway. Alexander says that despite the ups and downs of the last two years, she remains heartened by the way in which longtime patrons and local elected officials responded to the theater’s need.
“It is no secret that it has been extraordinarily stressful,” she adds. “But hearing people say how important the theater and the services we provide for them is, seeing their joy, is why people who work in this industry do what we do. Because that’s the payoff.”
More than 18,500 people annually attend performances at the venue, while another 11,500—primarily underserved populations such as disadvantaged children and mobility-impaired seniors—are reached through classes or community performances.
The current season’s remaining shows include The Bikinis, January 24 to February 22; Gigolo: The New Cole Porter Revue, March 14 to April 12; and Route 66, May 9 to June 8. To paraphrase George Gershwin, “Winter Park has music, Winter Park has rhythm. Who could ask for anything more?” Now, thanks to a timely infusion of cash, the shows must—and will—go on.
The Winter Park Playhouse is located at 711 North Orange Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call 407-645-0145 or visit winterparkplayhouse.org.
—Beth Kassab
‘EARTH’S LAST PICTURE’ IS PERSONAL FOR ARTIST HESS
Although his works are dark and moody, Dan Hess says the images in his current exhibition, Earth’s Last Picture, are meant to celebrate life, the artistic process and the creative spirit—and to explore the transitional spaces between this world and the next.
Hess, a multidisciplinary artist and chief curator at the Maitland Art Center, poses some profound questions with the display, which is being presented by Snap! Orlando at the City of Orlando’s Terrace Gallery and will run through January 21.
It’s also a deeply personal project for Hess. At press time, his friend Patrick Kahn—executive director of Snap! Orlando and for years one of the most compelling figures on the regional arts and cultural scene—was unexpectedly hospitalized following the recurrence of an aggressive form of cancer.
Coincidentally, the title Earth’s Last Picture was drawn from “When Earth’s Last Picture Is Painted,” Rudyard Kipling’s poem about human mortality and the immortality of artists, who are said to find a more profound purpose in the afterlife.
Kipling’s work, in part, reads: “When Earth’s last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried, / When the oldest colors have faded, and the youngest critic has died, / We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it—lie down for an eon or two, / Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.”
Even before Kahn’s most recent illness, Hess had several personal experiences that inspired the creations on view in Earth’s Last Picture. The first was an opportunity to examine X-rays of famous paintings and to examine how they transitioned from one form to another. The other was a near-fatal anaphylactic attack, which forced Hess to confront his own mortality and to ponder the mysterious plane of existence between life and death.
With an MFA at Stony Brook University in New York, Hess moved to Central Florida in 2013 and joined the Maitland Art Center. There, in addition to his duties as chief curator, he oversees the center’s artist-in-residence and artists-in-action programs.
Earth’s Last Picture has 25 paintings and art photography works, most of them created for this exhibition. The images are abstract and weighty (literally and figuratively) in a way that befits the themes with which they grapple. The Terrace Gallery is located on the first floor of City Hall, 400 South Orange Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call 407-212-7535 or visit snaporlando.com/events.
—Richard Reep
SAVE THE PLANET, IF YOU CATCH HIS DRIFT(WOOD)
Driftwood has inspired artists for centuries. Twisted and scarred by wind and waves, it can travel for hundreds or thousands of miles to wash up on shores, having acquired tiny plant and animal passengers in its narrow crevices.
Some of us display particularly cool pieces of driftwood and let the object—which looks pretty gnarly already—speak for itself. Palm Coast artist Paul Baliker, however, uses driftwood to carve epic statements about humans, animals and the natural world.
More than 30 of Baliker’s striking sculptures—including some bronzes—have been gathered for an exhibition, Wild at Heart: Environmental Sculptures by Paul Baliker, at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. The display will run through April 13.
“I endeavor to capture a moment in wood or bronze that expresses the potential for a symbiotic relationship with nature,” says Baliker. The artist often sees animal and human figures in the twisted natural shapes that he finds—and frees those figures from the distressed wood.
In the jaw-dropping “Running Out of Time,” for example, a bearded human face appears at the center of a 5-foot-wide circular tangle of wood replete with animals—birds in the atmosphere, mammals and reptiles on the ground and aquatic life at the bottom of the sea. The man’s hand holds a globe that’s half charred and blackened. The message is unmistakable.
“Baliker believes that nature supplies inherent movement in the wood,” says Tamie Diener-Lafferty, the museum’s curator. “He’s simply the tool used to reveal these ideas. Many years of time spent in or near the water have provided him with an intimate knowledge and profound respect for nature, especially her aquatic creatures.”
The artist will be in town for a talk and a gallery tour on Tuesday, February 4. Details hadn’t been finalized at press time. The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens is located at 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call 407-647-6294 or visit polasek.org.
—Richard Reep
THOSE FACES TELL THE STORIES OF THEIR LIVES
Scientists haven’t figured out time travel yet. But artists have—at least in a sense—thereby allowing you to experience the evolution of portraits and to compare today’s loose conventions to the pre-selfie use of physical attributes to convey status, wealth, faith and power.
Check it out for yourself at Beyond the Surface: Capturing Meaning through Portraiture, which will be on view from January 18 to May 11 at the Rollins Museum of Art. The exhibition will bring together a selection of paintings and sculptures by European and American artists from the 16th to the early 20th century.
Back then, portraits were assumed to be definitive and permanent. They sought to convey not just faces and fashion but also to reinforce social and moral values through subtle symbolism and style, and to communicate something about the subject’s personality.
Take a close look, for example, at Thomas Gainsborough’s 1781 portrait of European ballet superstar Gaetan Vestris, who was considered the Premier Danseur (First Dancer) of the Paris Academie Royale de Musique and nicknamed by the media “God of Dance.”
During his career, Vestris was embroiled in scandals and had to frequently flee Paris, usually to Germany, only to return triumphantly each time. That probably explains the arched eyebrow and twinkle in the eye that was captured by Gainsborough.
Fast forward about 120 years, as New Yorker William Merritt Chase became one of America’s top painters. Chase’s “Young Woman with Red Flowers,” in contrast to the realism of Gainsborough, is brushy and atmospheric.
The woman, wearing a high-necked formal dress, appears to be bored or even slightly annoyed. Her rather strained expression, however, may simply mean that she was eager for the session to be over. She was a model in a two-hour painting class conducted by Chase.
Also on view are quite different busts of women, including “Faith,” from 1867 by Hiram Powers, whose style reflects idealized neoclassical Greek; and “Veiled Lady,” from 1890 by Emilio P. Fiaschi, whose artistry has allowed him to conceal his subject’s features with sculpted fabric that appears soft to the touch. Contrast these formidable marble forms with “Portrait of a Berber Girl,” from 1893 by Domenico Pagano, who has created a more humanistic and relatable terra cotta representation of an indigenous North African.
You get the idea: No two faces are the same, but a great portrait by a skilled artist reveals differences that are much more than skin deep—a fact increasingly more obvious in this age of silly cell-phone selfies. The Rollins Museum of Art is located at 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park, on the campus of Rollin College. For more information, call 407-646-2526 or visit rollins.edu/exhibitions.
—Richard Reep