While we live in beach country, it is museum country, too. In the annals of time, the arrival of two new museums on the St. Petersburg, Florida, art scene in 2018 will count for years to come. Both museums focus on American art and living artists. Both exist due to the passion of art patrons. Both elicit gratitude for lives devoted to creating beauty.
The James Museum
The opening of The James Museum, with its collection of 500 paintings, sculpture and jewelry centered on western art and wildlife art proved so welcoming a sight, my husband and I became founding members. We appreciate the exquisite architecture, artistry and attention to history found at this museum. Through association with the business community, we know museum patrons Tom and Mary James spent decades purchasing the works of living artists, including Native American artists, artists who admire Native American culture and artists who depict the stories of the Wild West. Examples of Mary James' Native American jewelry (and a display about the nation's turquoise mines) are housed in the museum's Jewel Box.
The focus on Native American culture honors its enduring qualities while acknowledging the darker moments in American history that threatened to destroy it. The lives of Native Americans, settlers and cattle herders and sweeping landscapes reflect that history as it played out in individual lives. Wildlife paintings and sculptures encompass international works. Enlightening details about the historical context, artist, style or subject matter of the works add depth to one's appreciation in viewing the art.
The Imagine Museum
The Imagine Museum is a celebration of the American Studio Glass Movement, which started in the 1960s when artists began working in private studios rather than factories. The museum's nine first-floor galleries and six second-floor galleries and its reported 500 works are simply astonishing to view. The word “gobsmacked” comes to mind.
Founded by philanthropist Trish Duggan, it is a place to marvel at modern creations of blown glass, cast glass and flamework. In addition to the artists recognized as prime movers of studio glass, the museum exhibits works of international artists, new artists and trends in glass art that promise to make history.
Both museums are great additions to St. Petersburg, with its 100-year old Morean Art Center and Dale Chihuly (glass) collection, Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1965 and Dali Museum, which opened in 2011. As a bonus, traveling from place to place affords the opportunity to see striking murals created by local artists all over the city.
See samplings of images from both new museums.
Glass lace work on blue glass
Seagrass Amulet
Art-Deco Dining Scene
Siblings, a five-foot long work of cast glass
Winter Shadow, pair of striking tall glass statues
Two Very Different Glass Objects
Glass, Lights, Mirrors, Infinity
The James Museum lobby waterfall and a large sculpture
Modern Native American Art
Three Chiefs, bronze
Snowy West
Herd dogs chasing a mountain lion, painting
Cow Girl, bronze
Cowhand, bronze
Canyon
Cow Boy
Hunter becomes the hunted, Wildlife Gallery painting