America’s last remaining continental Eden was Florida, a pristine, verdant, tropical paradise. Surpassing all potential rivals, artist A.E. Backus (1906-­1990) developed a masterful aesthetic for portraying this unspoiled territory. During his lifetime, Backus was proclaimed “Florida’s painter laureate,“ the “Dean of Florida’s landscape painters” and even the “Corot of Florida.” Despite living in the Jim Crow South, he formed enduring friendships with Black musicians, artists and authors, including Zora Neale Hurston. His most conspicuous mentoring legacy was the circle of African American artists known as the Highwaymen. The exhibition of more than 60 paintings from the 1930s to the 1960s, as well as Highwaymen originals is curated by Backus expert Natasha Kuzmanovic, Author of the book Tropical Light: The Art of A. E. Backus.

Florida has long been a place of escape, and the souvenirs visitors took home during its mid-century heyday—hotel ashtrays, rubber alligators, roadside attraction brochures—embodied memories of carefree days in the Sunshine State. These vernacular objects, often decorative, utilitarian, or absurd, offer an unfiltered glimpse into a time when Florida’s identity was shaped by tourism and fantasy. The exhibition presents over 130 objects from the collection of Gary Monroe.

The Wild Path: Connecting the Florida We Don’t See presents 70 works by National Geographic conservation photographer Carlton Ward Jr., focused on wild Florida. Ward founded the Florida Wildlife Corridor project in 2010 and has since trekked 2,000 miles during two National Geographic supported expeditions to advocate for the corridor’s protection and the recovery of the Florida panther, which led to the award-winning 2022 documentary Path of the Panther.