'A beautiful history': St. Augustine exhibit includes paintings of bygone city life

Sheldon Gardner, St. Augustine Record
·2 min read
Billy Triay, property manager for the University of Florida Historic St. Augustine, looks at a painting in a gallery in the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine on Thursday, May 12, 2022. The "Painting St. Augustine" exhibit is from UF's Harn Museum of Art's "The Florida Art Collection." The collection was a gift from Samuel and Roberta Vickers and features paintings of Florida. The exhibit opened on Friday, May 13, and it is free to the public. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Once called the "most paintable city in the U.S." by artist Anthony Thieme, St. Augustine drew artists to paint its historic scenery around the Gilded Age and beyond, said Dulce Roman, chief curator and curator of modern art for the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida.

Paintings from artists who stayed at Henry Flagler's Hotel Ponce de Leon and sold works featuring St. Augustine to wealthy visitors are part of an exhibit at the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum at 48 King St. in St. Augustine, Ramon said.

The exhibit, which opened Friday, is free to the public. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The loan agreement for the pieces is for one year, according to UF Historic St. Augustine Property Manager Billy Triay.

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A painting by Robert German shows St. Augustine's bayfront in 1890. The painting is part of an exhibit at The Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.
A painting by Robert German shows St. Augustine's bayfront in 1890. The painting is part of an exhibit at The Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.

The exhibit was part of the St. Augustine History Festival, which featured special events and venues around the city through Sunday. The event was created by UF Historic St. Augustine, the organization tasked with caring for state-owned properties in the city. Details are at staugustinehistoryfestival.com.

The "Painting St. Augustine" exhibit is from the Harn Museum of Art's "The Florida Art Collection," a gift from Samuel and Roberta Vickers. The couple gave their collection of about 1,200 works of art to the Harn Museum.

The part of the collection that is in St. Augustine features "works by more than twenty artists who captured vibrant landscapes and city views of Florida’s oldest city," according to the Harn Museum of Art. "The works date from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries and cover a broad range of themes from views of coastlines and waterways to depictions of historic landmarks, picturesque streets and courtyards. Collectively, these paintings comprise a visual record of St. Augustine, its unique topography and climate, as well as its people and their daily lives."

An undated painting by Frank Henry Shapleigh shows a boat docked off St. Augustine. The painting is part of an exhibit at the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.
An undated painting by Frank Henry Shapleigh shows a boat docked off St. Augustine. The painting is part of an exhibit at the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.

The St. Augustine exhibit includes close to 40 paintings.

Among the featured artists are Frank Shapleigh and Laura Woodward, both of whom stayed at the Hotel Ponce de Leon.

"By the 1890s, St. Augustine had become a winter playground for artists and tourists alike, and paintings such as those on view here held a direct appeal to visitors who could purchase them as souvenirs of their travels," according to an exhibit description by Roman.

An undated painting by Emmett Fritz shows a street scene of St. Augustine. The painting is part of an exhibit at the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.
An undated painting by Emmett Fritz shows a street scene of St. Augustine. The painting is part of an exhibit at the Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum in St. Augustine.

Scenes include the Castillo de San Marcos (Fort Marion), Fort Matanzas, busy downtown streets, nuns, the bayfront, and people strolling through the Plaza de la Constitucion, among others.

Lee Anne Chesterfield, director of the Harn Museum of Art, said about the Vickers Collection, "I think of it as a beautiful history of Florida in painting."

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine featured in exhibit at Governor's House Cultural Center