Eugene Savage – Analog Artist Digital World

I have been returning periodically to the Mennello Museum (900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL) to do sketches of the exterior. This is my favorite sketch so far. I had to eliminate a tree to help streamline the composition. Trees have been disappearing at an alarming rate at the museum recently. The property is owned by the City of Orlando and they maintain the landscape. A large hole that looked like a grave marked the spot where one tree once stood. A wedding was happening that day and I imagine the happy couple posing for photos in front of the open grave where the huge root system had been dug up.

Another day I came to draw, bright yellow caution tape marked off a large area behind the museum. A tree branch had fallen and the yellow tape was meant to protect an unsuspecting public. I hope the tree isn’t cut down to spite its branches. There is a huge Live Oak in front of the museum with sweeping long branches that swoop down and touch the ground. It must be hundreds of years old. It is a gorgeous tree. Spanish moss hangs lazily from many of the trees as a reminder that we are in the deep south.

Now on display in the Museum you can discover the Everglades through art. In 1935 American artist Eugene Francis Savage made the first of many
journeys into the Florida Everglades to study the Seminoles. Inspired
by his observations over two decades, he created perhaps the most
extensive painted record of the Florida Seminoles from the early 20th
century. These works reflect Savage’s concern for the plight of native
culture as tourism, land development and environmentalist debates
threatened their traditional way of life. Capturing the natural rhythms
of the Everglades, these works present a vision of Seminole life and
seek to awaken the imagination and inspire the spirit. This is a great series of paintings. Be sure to see this rare collection before it leaves on January 5th. Its a great place to bring family over the holiday.

Admission for adults is $5. Members get in free. Get a loved one a museum membership this holiday season. It makes a great stocking stuffer and is a gift that keeps giving all year long. I have two free tickets to the museum for the first person who can name the artist whose pen and ink drawings with watercolor were published in 2000 as the book “Crackers in the Glade.” His work is now on display in the Mennello through January 5th. Just post your answer in the comments section to win, or e-mail the answer to analogartistdigitalworld@gmail.com.

The museum will be closed December 23-25 and December 30-January 1st.

On October 15th I went to The Mennello Museum of American Art (900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Fl.) to join the museum’s executive director Frank Holt for a walk and talk through the Everglades series of exhibits.As people arrived, I got to work on my sketch. The room I was in was filled with paintings by Eugine Savage. In 1935, he made the first of many trips into the Florida Everglades to study the Seminoles and their traditions. Eugene was a mural artist and all his paintings have a very bold consistent look. The Indians tolerated the artist at first but when he started depicting women partly unclothed, they stopped appreciating his vision. Any Seminole woman who had a romance with a white man would be cast out of the tribe, floating down river in a dug out canoe. The intricate patterns of traditional dress was treated with loving detail while extraneous detail was stripped away from the Everglades environments. The studies done in watercolor on tan paper were often mounted beside the final paintings giving amazing insight into the artist’s process. The artist also hand made the frames giving this collection of paintings an amazing uniformity.

Art and Artifacts of the Seminole were on display along with the paintings. With the development of Florida as a Tourist state, the traditions of the Seminoles slowly died. Villages were reduced to roadside attractions where you could have your picture taken with a local Indian. There is something sad in seeing these once proud people reduced to selling trinkets and photo opportunities. The artifacts are on loan from the collection of I.S.K. Reeves V and Sara W. Reeves. In the main gallery, Earl Cunningham paintings of the Everglades are on display. These painting seem to literally glow as the jump off the walls. In the back gallery, sketches of Rob Storter document Southwest Florida Everglades life in line and wash. I love these direct observational sketches that help preserve a simpler life that is long gone.

Frank Holt curated the Mennello Museum’s current Everglades
series of exhibitions like a conductor bringing together the
notes that create a symphony. The longtime executive director is at home
orchestrating displays of art in this museum, where he has practiced
his craft since it opened in November 1998. When done well, the evidence of the curator’s hand is not obvious,
but it is distinct. His signature is bold wall colors, brilliant
lighting and thoughtful interplay between the showcased art and the
natural architecture of the museum. Mark your Calendar, these exhibits are up till January 5th of 2014, and they shouldn’t be missed. Opening on January 17th, 2014 will be Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Santa Fe Art Colony. This exhibition features 40 artworks from public and private
collections that reflect the development of Santa Fe as an art colony
through the artists who visited there and helped establish the city as
an artistic center.