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WORK TITLE: Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.edwardanddeborahpollack.com/
CITY: Palm Beach
STATE: FL
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-c-pollack-b2157b12 * https://www.sc.edu/uscpress/books/2014/7432.html
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:Attended Boston University; Temple University, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, speaker, and fine art dealer. CBS Television, actress, 1973-76; D. Courtney Fine Art, owner, 1976-81; Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art LLC, managing partner, 1981-.
AWARDS:Florida Memorial University, women’s history award, for Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach.
WRITINGS
Contributor of articles to publications, including New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Women Artists of the South, Antiques and Art Around Florida, Tequesta, American Art Review, and Healthy Stories.
SIDELIGHTS
Public speaker, art historian, biographer, and fine art dealer Deborah C. Pollack has written several books on the art world of Florida and the South. She has also published articles in various publications, including Antiques and Art Around Florida, Tequesta, and American Art Review. She studied art history at Boston University and at Temple University, and curated and hung two exhibitions at The Society of the Four Arts King Library in Palm Beach, Florida, the Cornell Museum of Art, and the Delray Beach Historical Society. Pollack is also co-owner of Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art which focuses on Florida artists, and she is also interested in helping people cope with traumatic brain injury.
Felix F. de Crano
Pollack wrote Felix F. de Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony in 2014. De Crano (1839-1908) was an artist of the Henry Morrison Flagler’s Ponce de Leon colony of painters in St. Augustine, Florida. His work epitomized an important era in the history of the city. Born into a wealthy French family, De Crano studied at King’s College in London, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in America in 1864. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and spent winters with his family in St. Augustine. He exhibited his paintings of historical and literary figures along with such well-known American artists as Thomas Eakin and Mary Cassatt. Eventually his work was shown at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
In the book, Pollack explores the significance of de Crano’s work, the Flagler art colony where he had two studios, and the habit of the wealthy snowbirds to escape the northeast’s cold winters by going to Florida. “Pollack is to be commended for the book’s combination of readability and scholarly research,” according to Marie Vernon at St. Augustine Record. In an interview with Vernon, Pollack commented: “The St. Augustine Historical Society was essential in my research. Robert Harper, Executive Director of the Lightner Museum, was also a valuable resource as he is exceedingly knowledgeable about St. Augustine history.”
Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South and Palm Beach Visual Arts
Pollack wrote Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South in 2015. The book celebrates the influence of art in six southern cities―Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, Louisville, Austin, and Miami―from 1865 to 1950. She contends that art drives culture, sociological advancement, the economy, and evolution of urban centers. Artists also collaborate with philanthropists, women’s organizations, entrepreneurs, politicians, and others to transform cities. Writing in Journal of Southern History, Reiko Hillyer observed: “Pollack puts the artists of the New South, both black and white, in the context of a national movement toward urban beautification.” C.W. Westfall said in Choice, “There is impressive and extensive documentation of obscure works of art, fairs, museums, and artists.”
In the 2016 Palm Beach Visual Arts, Pollack reveals the history and influence of the island’s artistic achievements by painters, photographers, architects, sculptors, potters, artisans, art dealers, and philanthropists. Founded by oil baron Henry Morrison Flagler, Palm Beach attracted patrons of the arts seeking inspiration, such as Salvador Dali and Marcel Duchamp. Covering the 1880s to 2015, Pollack discusses the art scene in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach past and present, art organizations, and luminaries like the Kennedys, Ernest Hemingway, Cecil Beaton, Florenz Ziegfeld, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Commenting on the Shiny Sheet Web site, Pollack remarked, “Our visual arts heritage is stunning. Most people wouldn’t know most of the artists in the book. It’s time for them to be recognized.” Writing in the Florida Book News Online, Lou Belcher said: “This lavishly illustrated portrait is more than a history” as it presents and analyzes how a barrier island retreat for the super wealthy was transformed into an art lover’s haven.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Choice, August, 2015. C.W. Westfall, review of Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South, p. 2008.
Journal of Southern History, 2016, Reiko Hillyer, review of Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South, p. 702.
Reference & Research Book News May, 2010. review of Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach.
ONLINE
Deborah Pollack Home Page, http://www.edwardanddeborahpollack.com/ (March 1, 2017), author profile.
Florida Book News Online, http://www.floridabooknews.com (March 9, 2017), Lou Belcher, review of Palm Beach Visual Arts.
St. Augustine Record, http://staugustine.com (March 9, 2017), Marie Vernon, review of Felix F. de Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony.
Shiny Sheet, http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com (March 9, 2017), interview with Pollack.*
Deborah C. Pollack
Author, Speaker, and Managing Partner at Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art LLC
Palm Beach, FloridaArts and Crafts
Current
Deborah C. Pollack, Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art LLC
Previous
D. Courtney Fine Art, CBS Television
Education
Boston University
267
connectionsSend Deborah C. InMailMore options
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-c-pollack-b2157b12
Contact Info
Background
Summary
Fine art dealer, author of art history books and biographies, and speaker. Author of Orville Bulman: An Enchanted Life and Fantastic Legacy and Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach, published in association with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, which won a women's history award from Florida Memorial University. Contributor to the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi and University of North Carolina Press) and Women Artists of the South (The Johnson Collection (2018). Author of Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South (University of South Carolina Press), Felix de Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony (Lightner Museum), Palm Beach Visual Arts (Pelican Publishing Company), and the forthcoming Bad Scarlett: The Extraordinary Life of the Notorious Southern Beauty Marie Boozer. Author of several magazine and journal articles including in Antiques and Art Around Florida, Tequesta, and the American Art Review. Several stories and poems have been published in two editions of Healthy Stories and can also be found online at the Miami Health Department's website.Curated and hung two exhibitions at The Society of the Four Arts King Library in Palm Beach, Florida, the Cornell Museum of Art, and the Delray Beach Historical Society.
One of the goals of Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art is to bring artists who were well-known in their lifetime back to the forefront, focusing on Florida artists.
Also, an important goal of Deborah's is to help people cope with traumatic brain injury, a condition that strikes every 20 seconds. Her support web site is www.bestysupportpage.com
Specialties: Buying and selling fine oil paintings and watercolors, presenting lectures, writing books, journal, and magazine articles, and curating and hanging exhibitions,
Experience
Author
Deborah C. Pollack
2000 – Present (17 years)
Managing Partner
Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art LLC
1981 – Present (36 years)
Fine Art Gallery, specializing in 19th to mid-20th-century American Art.
(Open)1 recommendation
Ruth Greene-McNally
Ruth Greene-McNally
Collections Manager at Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum, Southern Vermont Arts Center
Deborah Pollack is a detail-oriented scholar who endeavors to bring valuable but forgotten 18th and 19th century artists to contemporary audiences. I worked with Deborah on a series of research requests for her soon-to-be released book, "Laura...View
Owner
D. Courtney Fine Art
1976 – 1981 (5 years)
Art Gallery
Actress
CBS Television
1973 – 1976 (3 years)
Created the role of "Caroline Aleata" ("Cal") on the program "Love of Life"
Skills
Top Skills
19Art
17Fine Art
14Visual Arts
12Contemporary Art
10Books
10Art History
8Museums
7Publishing
6Public Speaking
6Storytelling
Deborah C. also knows about...
6Painting
6Curating
6Art Exhibitions
5Magazines
5Research
4History
4Watercolor
4Oil Painting
3Lecturing
Education
Boston University
Boston University
Acting, Art History
Temple University
Temple University
BA, Art History
Organized lectures, graduated with honors.
Additional Info
Interests
Researching American artists from 1840-1970, writing art history books and biographies, and lecturing.
Organizations
Additional Organizations
Historical Society of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Cultural Council, Life Member and Patron of the Actors Fund of America, South Florida Writers' Association, Associate of Archives of American Art, Saint Augustine Historical Society, Flagler Museum, Norton Museum of Art, Sustaining Member of the Brain Injury Association of Florida.
Honors & Awards
Additional Honors & Awards
Graduated Cum Laude, Temple University
Certificate of Award for making "a significant contribution to advancing the awareness of women's history" from Florida Memorial University
Prizes for poetry, South Florida Writers Association
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Print Marked Items
Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New
South
Reiko Hillyer
Journal of Southern History.
82.3 (Aug. 2016): p702.
COPYRIGHT 2016 Southern Historical Association
http://www.uga.edu/~sha
Full Text:
Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South. By Deborah C. Pollack. (Columbia: University of South
Carolina Press, 2015. Pp. xiv, 366. $59.95, ISBN 9781611174328.)
Deborah C. Pollack's contribution to the literature on the cultural history of the New South lies in her emphasis on
taking the artists of the era as her main subjects, rather than treating artistic production only as representation. Starting
from the premise that artists "became the impetus of the cultural and at times physical, economic, and sociological
advancement of ... six New South cities," her task is to explore the influence of "artists and other cultural strivers in the
evolution of several major New South urban centers" (p. 1). These artists chronicled the Old South and the
transformations of the New South and, in so doing, "established a synergistic dynamic by joining forces with
philanthropists, women's organizations, entrepreneurs, writers, architects, politicians, and idealistic dreamers" (p. 10).
Pollack asserts that these allies helped usher New South cities into an era of cultural maturity. Significantly, Pollack
does not focus solely on picturesque images of the Old South, but also examines artistic productions that borrowed
from European idioms and attempted to capture the character of urban life. Casting a broad net from sculptors to
photographers, Pollack puts the artists of the New South, both black and white, in the context of a national movement
toward urban beautification.
Ambitiously, Pollack chooses Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, Louisville, Austin, and Miami as her case studies, and
for each city she identifies the main artists and cultureminded boosters, exploring their efforts at artistic production
and at establishing a cultural milieu that included sketching clubs, expositions, and, eventually, museums. The book is
generously illustrated with images on almost every page, and the reader gets a sense of the prolific and vibrant art scene
in these burgeoning southern cities. One of Pollack's main strengths is the significant amount of research she did to
uncover the biographies of these artists, the provenance of their works, and the collaborations among artists, civic
leaders, women's groups, and art collectors. Another strength is the attention she pays to African American artists and
the discrimination they faced.
However, the book has several problems. First, despite Pollack's acknowledgment of the presence of Jim Crow laws
and racial violence, she generally adopts a tone that is uncritical of the Redeemers' point of view, using phrases such as
"Carpetbaggers ... invaded Atlanta, taking advantage of distressed property owners and intertwining themselves in local
politics" (p. 13); in Miami, Yankees were resented for "taking advantage of freedmen" (p. 245). Similarly, Pollack
downplays the problematic implications of the Uncle Remus story, which, according to her, "prove[s] the universality
of its Americana charm, regardless of any racial or sociological ramifications" (p. 16).
Second, Pollack does not engage the rich secondary literature relevant to her exploration, including W. Fitzhugh
Brundage on the role of women in guarding public memory, Catherine Cocks on changing notions of the tropics, Kirk
Savage on art and the politics of historical memory, and Anthony J. Stanonis on tourism to New Orleans, to name a few.
As a result, much of the book is undertheorized and uninformed. Finally, though it seems logical enough, the
chronological arrangement of each chapter does not serve Pollack well, as her narrative goes more or less year by year
without organizing principles or themes. The result of such narration is that the book suffers from non sequiturs, such
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as a brief description of Atlanta's 1906 pogrom followed by, "Meanwhile, nativeborn Lucy May Stanton ... an
innovative miniaturist, was active in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, where she relocated in 1902" (p. 48). In short, this
book is more encyclopedic than analytical, and it is more useful as a reference rather than as an interpretation of
cultural development in the New South.
REIKO HILLYER
Lewis and Clark College
Hillyer, Reiko
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Hillyer, Reiko. "Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South." Journal of Southern History, vol. 82, no. 3,
2016, p. 702+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460447795&it=r&asid=8bef81d70b16e05996ae8aacd95e6e68.
Accessed 2 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460447795
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Pollack, Deborah C.: Visual art and the urban
evolution of the New South
C.W. Westfall
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.
52.12 (Aug. 2015): p2008.
COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
Full Text:
Pollack, Deborah C. Visual art and the urban evolution of the New South. South Carolina, 2015. 366p bibl index afp
ISBN 9781611174328 cloth, $59.95; ISBN 9781611174335 ebook, $59.95
526227
N6520
CIP
This is a major readable and scholarly contribution to understanding arts that are more significant to a region than to the
nation. The focus of the volume is on artists who were from or active in six southern cities from a city's founding up to
the 1950s. Only in the case of the youngest of these cities, Miami, does Pollack claim that artists' contributions affected
the form that the city took. The arts developed largely independently in Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, Louisville,
and Austin until the surge of growth and the arts after Reconstruction, when the South absorbed the aesthetic
movement. The influence of this movement is credited to John Ruskin's books and Oscar Wilde's American tour and
embodied in the program for the New South promoted in 1886 by Atlanta's Henry Woodfin Grady. There is impressive
and extensive documentation of obscure works of art, fairs, museums, and artistsa number of them women and
African Americansthat fit their regions but have escaped national notice. Extensive footnotes and bibliography, an
index, and 156 blackandwhite illustrations on regular paper and 15 in color on glossy complete this sturdy, wellproduced
book. Summing Up: ** Recommended. General readers, upperdivision undergraduates, graduate students,
research faculty.C. W. Westfall, University of Notre Dame
Westfall, C.W.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Westfall, C.W. "Pollack, Deborah C.: Visual art and the urban evolution of the New South." CHOICE: Current Reviews
for Academic Libraries, Aug. 2015, p. 2008. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA424530287&it=r&asid=2903868456b9f5997177ef2d350a2137.
Accessed 2 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A424530287
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Laura Woodward; the artist behind the innovator
who developed Palm Beach
Reference & Research Book News.
25.2 (May 2010):
COPYRIGHT 2010 Ringgold, Inc.
http://www.ringgold.com/
Full Text:
9780977839919
Laura Woodward; the artist behind the innovator who developed Palm Beach.
Pollack, Deborah C.
Blue Heron Press
2009
264 pages
$39.99
Hardcover
ND237
In a wellillustrated volume published in association with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County for the county's
centennial anniversary, a Palm Beach resident draws on public and private archives and other sources to give proper
due to now little known artist Laura Woodward (18341926). As one of the few women members of the Hudson River
and White Mountain Schools, Woodward inspired tycoon/art patron Henry Morrison Flagler in the development of his
resorts with her paintings depicting the area as a tropical paradise. Pollack discusses challenges for female artists in the
social milieu of the era.
([c]2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Laura Woodward; the artist behind the innovator who developed Palm Beach." Reference & Research Book News,
May 2010. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA225460433&it=r&asid=30b22a8fcbdcb149d9887d5e14182722.
Accessed 2 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A225460433
Posted February 21, 2015 06:33 pm - Updated February 21, 2015 06:33 pm
By Marie Vernon
Book review: 'Felix F. de Crano - Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony'
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Kudos to author Deborah Pollack, the Lightner Museum and its executive director, Robert Harper, for bringing to life the story of an artist whose works epitomize a particular period in American art as well as an important era in the history of St. Augustine. From 1889 until his death in 1908, Felix de Crano spent winters in St. Augustine where he became prominent among the group of artists known as the Flagler Colony.
De Crano was born in 1839 into a well-to-do French family. Although educated as an engineer, he abandoned that career to study art in London, Paris and Rome. In 1864, the de Cranos immigrated to Philadelphia where Felix became affiliated with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. As his work became known, he exhibited along with such well-known American artists as Thomas Eakin and Mary Cassatt. He was known as a “genre painter,” and Pollack notes that often his paintings “portrayed figures in a historical, literary or everyday milieu.” His paintings appeared in national exhibitions, took prizes in juried shows and commanded a place at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
While de Crano’s prominence in the art world of that era is an important element of the book, in the segments dealing with St. Augustine it also provides important insights to the years when wealthy northerners, wishing to escape winter’s blasts, traveled to our city either by boat or via Henry Flagler’s railroad. Many of the Flagler Colony artists occupied rooms in Henry Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel (now part of Flagler College). There they had easy access to the wealthy patrons wintering at the hotel. The artists displayed and sold their work in the adjoining studio building. Later, De Crano added a second studio specifically for his watercolors. Sales were brisk. In an era before color photography came into common use, visitors were happy to take home local paintings as souvenirs of their stay.
As well-to-do members of the snowbird community, Felix and his wife Mary participated in local amusements such as golf and sailing. Felix took part in local theatrical productions, and the couple entertained frequently, often dining at the Alcazar Hotel (now the Lightner Museum). For a time they occupied “Rose Cottage” at 22 Granada St.; later they built a lavish three-story home, “The Shingles” at 44 Sevilla St. The house was later moved and expanded and eventually demolished.
Pollack is to be commended for the book’s combination of readability and scholarly research, She has included a “notes” section and a bibliography. The staff of the Lightner Museum, under whose auspices the book was published, should also be commended for the handsome reproductions of 26 plates of de Crano’s works, a number of which are displayed at the Lightner Museum and the Pena-Peck House operated by the Women’s Exchange.
Q&A WITH DEBORAH POLLACK
In addition to the current book on Felix de Crano, what other artists have you written about?
Numerous American artists are mentioned in my latest book, “Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South,” just published by the University of South Carolina Press. I also wrote the monograph, “Orville Bulman: An Enchanted Life and Fantastic Legacy.” Bulman (1904-1978) was a mid-20th century Grand Rapids and Palm Beach artist who became internationally renowned. Additionally, I wrote the biography, “Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach,” which was published with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County and won a women’s history award from Florida Memorial University. Like de Crano, Laura Woodward (1834-1926) was a member of the Flagler colony at Hotel Ponce de Leon.
As this book required considerable historic research, what were the most valuable resources you found in St. Augustine?
The St. Augustine Historical Society was essential in my research. Robert Harper, Executive Director of the Lightner Museum, was also a valuable resource as he is exceedingly knowledgeable about St. Augustine history.
What in your educational background prepared you to become an art historian?
I studied art history at Boston University and at Temple University with leading scholars Glenn Benge and Abraham Davidson. Davidson wrote the million-copy bestseller, “The Story of American Art.” Both professors instilled in me a love and understanding of art history that has become integral in my life. While I graduated from Temple University with honors, as an art dealer from the age of sixteen. I learned quite a bit about art history that academics never encounter, simply by handling, studying and researching paintings and sculpture.
What is your current involvement in the art world?
I am still an art dealer with my husband, Edward Pollack, in Palm Beach where we have a gallery on Worth Avenue, Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art. I am also currently writing an art history book in cooperation with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
Q&A WITH ROBERT HARPER
What role did you play in bringing the book to publication?
My interest in Felix de Crano began years ago and I was delighted when Deborah Pollack decided to take on the research project. I visualized a small pamphlet, but a grant from Dr. and Mrs. Donald A, Laidlaw and the fact that Deborah Pollack worked on it without compensation allowed us to create a more inclusive work and professional book.
What are your plans for distributing the book?
It is, of course, available in our museum shop, at the Historical Society and the Flagler Museum. The exhibit we have mounted of de Crano’s paintings will end Feb. 28, but most of the paintings we included appear in the book’s color plates.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Palm Beach Visual Arts by Deborah C. Pollack
A history of Palm Beach’s visual arts is like a history of art itself, and it is equally as fascinating. Written by author Deborah C. Pollack with the cooperation of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Visual Arts (Pelican Publishing Company) is the first book to comprehensively explore the incredible story of the island and the painters, photographers, sculptors, artisans, art dealers, and philanthropists drawn to it. This lavishly illustrated portrait is more than a history: it uncovers, emphasizes, and analyzes the significant art created in Palm Beach, revealing in great detail how a barrier island enclave of the super wealthy was transformed into a prominent and influential locus for the arts. And because West Palm Beach is just over the bridge, its art and artists are also explored. Luminaries include the Kennedys, Sylvester Stallone, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cecil Beaton, Salvador Dali, Florenz Ziegfeld, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Addison Mizner, Gertrude Lawrence, George Hamilton, and Gloria Vanderbilt. Paintings by Laurencin, Monet, Renoir, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Gauguin are also included.
Rave Reviews for Palm Beach Visual Arts:
“What better way to learn the rich history of the visual arts in the paradise that is Palm Beach than through Deborah’s exquisitely written and illustrated book?”--Marisa J. Pascucci, Curator of Collections at Boca Raton Museum of Art
“Deborah Pollack is a valuable asset as the conservator of the history of Florida’s visual arts. Her latest magnum opus, Palm Beach Visual Art, is elegant, scholarly, and most significant.”
--Molly Charland, Director of Education, Society of the Four Arts
“In documenting the art of Palm Beach, Florida, Deborah Pollack has written an important volume which chronicles a previously untold chapter in the history of Florida’s most iconic gold coast town. As lavish and rich as her subject matter, Pollack’s work is both scholarly as well as visually captivating. Palm Beach Visual Arts is a must read for anyone interested in Florida and American art.” --Robert Harper III, Executive Director, Lightner Museum
“Filled with fabulous photos of paintings, sculptures, artists, and socialites, Deborah Pollack imparts entertaining and scholarly insight as to how art served as the catalyst to forming one of the most beautiful and affluent resorts in the world, the island of Palm Beach. …The intersection of art and commerce continues to this day. …Open this book and take a tour of the lush beauty of Palm Beach through the lens of artists!” –Catherine Whitney, art collector
Publisher:
Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
1000 Burmaster Street
Gretna, Louisiana 70053-2246
Toll-free: 1 (800) 843-1724 or 1 (888) 5-PELICAN
www.pelicanpub.com
Deborah C. Pollack may be reached at 561-655-1425 dcpollack@bellsouth.net
Posted by Lou Belcher at 9:36 AM
New book first to detail Palm Beach’s visual arts history
ARTS By Jan Sjostrom - Daily News Arts Editor 0
Renowned actor Joseph Jefferson painted outdoor scenes such as ‘Swamp Landscape,’ from 1894, during his winter sojourns in Palm Beach. Courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County
Posted: 8:01 a.m. Sunday, January 29, 2017
In the 1920s, painter Frank von Hausen climbed into his Lincoln Phaeton convertible and drove from Maine to Palm Beach, where he set up a studio on Worth Avenue.
+ Frank Von Hausen painted Addison Mizner’s portrait in 1932. The artist said the architect was a difficult subject because he wouldn’t photo DAILY NEWS ARTS EDITOR
Frank Von Hausen painted Addison Mizner’s portrait in 1932. The artist said the architect was a difficult subject because he wouldn’t ... Read More
Von Hausen continued to work in Palm Beach for 50 years. He flourished by painting portraits of local luminaries such as multi-millionaire Edward Stotesbury and architect Addison Mizner, as well as a posthumous likeness of Henry Flagler.
Mizner was a trial to paint.
“You could almost feel the building schemes coursing in the brain of that huge body,” the artist said. “He wouldn’t sit still.” To say nothing of the distraction of Mizner’s pet monkey scampering about.
Related
New book first to detail Palm Beach’s visual arts history New book first to detail Palm Beach’s visual arts history
New book first to detail Palm Beach’s visual arts history New book first to detail Palm Beach’s visual arts history
Von Hausen was far from the only artist enticed by Palm Beach’s subtropical beauty and its well-heeled, culturally sophisticated residents.
His story and many more are told in Deborah Pollack’s Palm Beach Visual Arts. Recently released by Pelican Publishing Co., it’s the first book to concentrate on the town’s visual arts history. Packed with 204 color images, the book covers the 1880s to 2015 and encompasses the artists, society photographers, collectors, galleries and cultural organizations that shaped the town.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” Pollack said. “Our visual arts heritage is stunning. Most people wouldn’t know most of the artists in the book. It’s time for them to be recognized.”
+ An unknown photographer captured frequent visitor Cecil Beaton with writer Anita Loos on Jan. 16, 1930 in Palm Beach. Beaton photographed photo DAILY NEWS ARTS EDITOR
An unknown photographer captured frequent visitor Cecil Beaton with writer Anita Loos on Jan. 16, 1930 in Palm Beach. Beaton photographed ... Read More
But readers might recognize the celebrated artists who visited or worked in Palm Beach, including Marcel Duchamp, Cecil Beaton and Salvador Dali.
+ Orville Bulman, shown here in his studio with his painting ‘Delilah and the Preacher,’ was a prosperous businessman who took up photo DAILY NEWS ARTS EDITOR
Orville Bulman, shown here in his studio with his painting ‘Delilah and the Preacher,’ was a prosperous businessman who took up ... Read More
Pollack and her husband moved to Palm Beach 21 years ago and established Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art on Worth Avenue, specializing in Florida art. Her books include monographs of Palm Beach artists Laura Woodward and Orville Bulman.
“She is the doyenne of Palm Beach’s cultural history,” said Molly Charland, The Society of the Four Arts’ education director. Pollock will talk about her book at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Four Arts’ Dixon Education Building.
Colorful characters abound in the book.
Joseph Jefferson, who relaxed in Palm Beach around the turn of the 20th century by painting scenes of the outdoors, was better known as a legendary actor.
+ Henry Strater, said to be the inspiration for the character Burne Holiday in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘This Side of Paradise,’ painted photo DAILY NEWS ARTS EDITOR
Henry Strater, said to be the inspiration for the character Burne Holiday in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘This Side of Paradise,’ painted ... Read More
Landscape painter Henry Strater, described in the book as “an ardent lover of many women,” was a member of the “lost generation” of American expatriates in Paris in the 1920s. He was the inspiration for the character Burne Holiday in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise.
Businessman and winter resident Bulman didn’t take up painting until his 40s. He was so grateful when the first painting sold at the 1950 opening of his show at a gallery on Royal Poinciana Way that he chased the buyer down to give him a bottle of scotch.
Female artists
+ Heiress Alice De Lamar, left, and Mary Duggett Benson, shown her in 1933 in Weston, Conn., were fast friends for decades. photo DAILY NEWS ARTS EDITOR
Heiress Alice De Lamar, left, and Mary Duggett Benson, shown her in 1933 in Weston, Conn., were fast friends for decades. ... Read More
The book also recounts the largely forgotten contributions of Daisy Erb, Mary Benson and Alice De Lamar.
Erb, a jewelry designer and real estate investor, campaigned for the establishment of an art museum here for years. In 1941, the Palm Beach Art League, the successor to an art club she helped found in 1920, partnered with Ralph and Elizabeth Norton to create the Norton Museum of Art.
Heiress De Lamar, who first came to Palm Beach in 1919, patronized a host of artists. Her many house guests included impoverished artists as well as celebrities such as Charlton Heston. She also invited her intimate friend Benson to stay with her.
Benson operated the Worth Avenue Gallery, the town’s first nationally known commercial gallery, from 1942 to 1965. “She changed the way the world looked at Palm Beach galleries,” Pollack said.
In addition to exhibiting works by famous impressionist and modernist painters, Benson fostered the careers of lesser-known artists such as Bernard Buffet, Piero Aversa and Channing Weir Hare. Her weekly openings were packed.
The arts thrived because residents craved the cultural amenities they enjoyed in their northern homes.
What other small town could host a Vincent Van Gogh retrospective and a Paul Gauguin exhibition? Both parked at The Society of the Four Arts in the 1950s.
Homes also provided employment for artists such as Jose Maria Sert y Badia, whose murals depicting Sinbad adorned the ballroom of Playa Riente. When the mansion was razed in 1957, the murals went to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
With the book’s wealth of information, you might suspect it’s heavy going. Not at all, said Robert Harper, executive director of the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine. Rest assured, it’s “very readable,” he said.