Films, books, and artwork have romanticized Old Florida for decades. Now it is being brought back to life in the Tampa Museum of Art’s latest exhibit, Poetry in Paint: The Artists of Old Tampa Bay. This exhibit features the curated collection of Dr Alfred Frankel’s and features long-lost paintings of Florida artists throughout the 20th century. The exhibit will be open from August 18, 2022 to January 23 of next year.
What is “The Artists of Old Tampa Bay”?
Collector Dr. Alfred Frankel has studied and collected the paintings of early Florida artists for the past 40 years. He first began his inquisition into Florida art history in the 1980s. There, he frequently purchased art from Michael Turbeville, a well-known antique dealer in Tampa Bay. Dr Frankel began collecting a variety of artworks depicting Florida’s natural landscapes. To date, has acquired over 500 artworks from all types of Florida artists.
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His holdings depict Florida’s raw beauty. The collection reveals how local artists from Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Gainesville were influential in developing art communities across the state in the early 20th century. Painters in the collection include:
As well as many relatively unknown but immensely talented artists.
Dr. Frankel has extensively researched the artists in his vast collection, which has resulted in the self-publication of the books Artists of Old Florida, 1840-1960 and The Dictionary of Florida Artists.
