Art reveals ‘real Florida’ in rich ranching heritage
Rachel Frisby, curator at the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, has shaped fine-art shows. She’s studied conservation techniques in laboratory settings. But the special exhibition now at the Winter Park museum has offered her an experience like no other: She’s traveled the state from Seminole land to sandy palmetto prairies, meeting cattlemen and women who not only continue Florida’s five centuries of cattle culture but also record that legacy in works of art.
These artists are “painting scenes of land that has a legacy in their families,” Frisby says, and doing it with “accuracy and a deep knowledge” of Florida’s ranch lands. The new exhibition of their works, titled “Lay of the Land: The Art of Florida’s Cattle Culture,” honors Florida’s pioneers and represents the top artists in the state today in a unique genre sometimes called “Florida cowboy art” — although, as Frisby notes, the term “cow hunter” has always been preferred to “cowboy” in the Sunshine State, where the cattle culture goes back to animals brought to the peninsula by Spanish explorers.
‘Strikingly authentic’
It’s a genre that is “strikingly authentic,” Frisby says. “Every detail is accurate, depicting, for instance, what working the cattle actually means and looks like, to equine anatomy, to the differences in regional ‘working’ landscapes around Florida.”
The exhibition presents the work of 18 artists and represents “cherished memories captured in a variety of media with sincerity and skill in various forms, from functional to classical,” she notes, and it explores the genre’s various forms, from bronze sculpture to leather cattle whips to traditional oil paintings.
Frisby credits Mark Terry of Orlando, past president of the Polasek’s board, with the original inspiration for “Lay of the Land,” which has been years in the making. A fifth-generation Floridian, Terry grew up on the fabled Magnolia Ranch, where his father, the late George Terry Jr., presided over a cattle company in Orange County begun by his grandfather, George Terry Sr. In its heyday, Magnolia Ranch encompassed 100,000 acres.
To prepare the show, Frisby also worked with Bob Stone, an artist, musician, folk-life historian and archivist, and Sean Sexton, an artist and rancher who grew up on his family’s Treasure Hammock Ranch west of Vero Beach.
“We wish all visitors to this wonderful show could have experienced firsthand the workshops, studios, households, and most importantly, lives underlying the works in the exhibition,” Sexton writes in the exhibition catalog.
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m., Stone will present a program at the Polasek titled “Five Centuries of Florida Cattlemen History,” about the link between Florida’s history and its cattle culture, originating with Spanish settlement in the 1500s and continuing today. Stone’s talk will be followed by a gallery tour. The program is free, but seating is limited; reserve a space by writing info@polasek.org.
“Lay of the Land: The Art of Florida’s Cattle Culture” continues through April 14 at the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, 633 Osceola Ave., Winter Park. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sundays, 1 – 4 p.m. (it’s closed Mondays). For more information, visit polasek.org or call 407-647-6294.
Storytelling Festival returns
The Florida Storytelling Festival returns to the Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora from Jan. 24-27. Folks come from across the state and beyond to savor the art of storytelling. Featured performers include Shawn Welcome, performance poet and host of Orlando’s Diverse Word open mic nights.
The festival offers varied events ranging from free “front-porch storytelling” at the Lakeside Inn to ticketed events including a “Story Cruise” on Lake Dora. For the full schedule and details, visit the Florida Storytelling Association’s website, flstory.com. Questions? Call 800-327-1796.