Klir Beck
Originally from Maine, Beck studied at the Art Student's League of New York. As state artist of Maine, he executed many projects for the Maine Planning Board, as well as numerous woodcarvings at the Washington, D.C. zoo.
Florida Keys Council of the Arts
Who do we serve? Every place the Council serves, from Key Largo to Key West. Click a point to see what is there.
Coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Florida outline from Natural Earth, public domain.
Every place on the map, by stretch of the Keys. Filter here or on the map: the two stay in step.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
The Key West Fire Department outside Station 3 on Grinnell Street, the building the museum occupies today.
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Public domain.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
Sheila Berger, 2017
(Bird of Glory and Praise) seeks to shake us out of taking nature for granted. The tiny sparrow is elevated in her position on a large pedestal similar to the Greek gods throughout history.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
A 4,000 capacity outdoor amphitheater at Truman Waterfront Park, on the Gulf of Mexico beside Fort Zachary Taylor. Owned by the City of Key West and managed by Rams Head Presents, it hosts national touring acts, festivals, community fundraisers and cultural gatherings, with 600 reserved seats and a general admission lawn.
A sculpted portrait of Coffee Butler, the Key West musician the amphitheater is named for. Not the amphitheater itself.
From the Council's archive
A Midsummer Night's Dream performed against the fort's brick wall. Not a portrait of the museum.
From the Council's archive
From the Annual Gallery Guide
8 works · Key West
Epic Duet James T. Russell
Island Home Reen Stanhouse
Images in Concrete Stephen Ochs and Gerald Taylor
Star Witness Keith Oliver
The Florida Keys - Historical Montage Daniel Lawler
Then and Now Daniel Lawler
Key West Custom House Circa 1920 Daniel Lawler
The Old Courthouse - Circa 1920 Daniel Lawler
WPA and FERA site
Showcasing current, as well as early, works by former FERA artist Henry La Cagnina.
Since then: A commercial gallery. Check its opening hours before visiting.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
WPA and FERA site
Originally Key West High School. Contains William Hoffman murals depicting discovery of Key West by Spanish explorers, and the building of the Overseas Railroad. (Limited access. Please stop in office before viewing.)
Since then: The building is now Key West City Hall. It was Glynn Archer Elementary when the Council wrote this, and the murals stayed through the conversion.
The 1923 school today, as Josephine Parker City Hall. Its facade still names the Glynn R. Archer School.
Photo by Julian Lupyan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Council's archive
WPA and FERA site
Two bas reliefs by Joan van Breeman.
The center in 2005, from the Truman Avenue lawn under its two kapok trees.
Photograph by Dale M. McDonald, 2005. Dale M. McDonald Collection, State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (DM3712). Public Domain Mark 1.0.
WPA and FERA site
Watercolors and prints by Alfred Crimi, F. Townsend Morgan, Stanley Wood, and Martha Sauer, and FERA artifacts.
Photo by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
WPA and FERA site
Begun with Civil Works Administration funds and completed in 1935 with FERA funds. Contains reproductions os some original frescoes by FERA artist Alfred Crimi.
Photo by Julian Lupyan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
WPA and FERA site
One of 66 community art centers administered by the WPA throughout the U.S., where art classes were taught and gallery space provided.
The Center today, from across Front Street.
Courtesy of the Key West Art Center & Gallery
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
16 works · Key West
Avis Gloriae et Laudis MMXVI, Bird of Glory and Praise Sheila Berger
Nature Eternal Sheila Berger
Airport Barriers Marlene Koenig, 2017
A Walk in Paradise Team McMow, July 2014
Circles Meeting in Light Garry Price
Monoplane Dick Moody
Sunset Celebration Debra Yates
Back Country Kim and Ian Workman
A Walk in Old Town. C.J. Groth
Florida Keys Fauna Elena Ortega
The Excursion Team McMow, 2009
The Nitch Rick Worth, 1999
In the Beginning... Nancy Holcomb, 1999
The Happy Fisherman James Racchi, 1999
Untitled (Raku-Fired Clay Tile) Charles Pearson & Timothy Roeder
Key West Sunset Sal Salinero, 1999
From the Council's archive
A beautifully restored historic venue in the heart of Old Town Key West, the Key West Theater hosts live music, comedy, theatrical performances, and community events. Originally built in 1849 as a Baptist church, the building has been transformed into an intimate 250-seat performance space.
From the Council's archive
WPA and FERA site
Commissioner McCoy's office. Three watercolors by Walton Blodgett.
WPA and FERA site
"Portable" mural by Erik Johan Smith. Originally installed in the 3.2 Cafe, Duval and Petronia Streets, Key West.
Since then: Florida Keys Community College was renamed The College of the Florida Keys in 2019.
WPA and FERA site
FERA artifacts and prints by Erik Smith and Stanley Wood.
Photo by P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Council's archive
Sheila Berger, 2017
A kinetic sculpture playfully placed within a city bench where the Bird is able to gaze longingly at the tree.
Recorded as the Captain Francis Watlington House, 322 Duval Street, by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress. Public domain.
A professional Equity theater in a restored 19th century barn tucked behind Duval Street, producing a full season of plays and musicals. One of Key West's longest running companies.
From the Council's archive
From the Annual Gallery Guide
A historic Cuban heritage center and performance venue founded in 1871. The beautifully restored building hosts concerts, lectures, art exhibitions, and cultural events celebrating the rich Cuban-American heritage of Key West.
The Key West Literary Seminar in the Institute's auditorium, 2014.
From the Council's archive
WPA and FERA site
Bust of Julius Stone, FERA administrator and creator of the Key West Art Project.
Photo by Pietro Valocchi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
Temporarily closed November 3 to 13, 2026. Reopens November 14.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
WPA and FERA site
Reproduction of painting by Erik Smith; original in the collection of the Key West Art & Historical Society.
Photo by Roger W, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
WPA and FERA site
Large painting by Adrian Dornbush, and a later painting by William Hoffman. (Please call ahead in order to view.)
Since then: A working law office. Please call ahead before visiting.
The firm's own hanging sign at the entrance, which carries the street number. Not a portrait of the building, and not of the art inside.
Photograph courtesy of Spottswood, Spottswood, Spottswood & Sterling, PLLC
From the Annual Gallery Guide
The museum's own sign on Truman Avenue.
From the Council's archive
Located on the campus of Florida Keys Community College, the Tennessee Williams Theatre is a 478-seat performing arts venue hosting concerts, dance performances, theatrical productions, lectures, and film screenings. Named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who called Key West home, the theater is the largest performing arts venue in the Florida Keys.
The auditorium during a performance. Not a portrait of the building.
Tennessee Williams Theatre
From the Annual Gallery Guide
A multidisciplinary arts campus featuring indoor and outdoor performance spaces, gallery rooms, and artist studios. The Studios hosts concerts, theater, film screenings, literary readings, and visual art exhibitions year-round.
Photo by Kimalanpederson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
From the Council's archive
Key West's premier professional theater company producing a full season of plays and musicals in an intimate waterfront setting. The Waterfront Playhouse has been a cornerstone of the Keys performing arts community since 1938.
The playhouse on Mallory Square, its name board on the front wall, photographed in 2008.
Photo by CedarBendDrive, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Damon Hamm and Jeff Sundheim, 2020
Wavehenge was conceived as a site-specific piece for people to sit by the water and enjoy the view. It functions as a daily sundial and solar calendar, the shadow lands on the curved outline of one 'raft' bench when the hour and minute of the day matches the month and day of the year, for summer and winter solstice, and spring and fall equinox.
On the quay
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
3 works · Stock Island
So much Fun! J. H. Allen
To the Park Stephanie Jaffe
Free Play Lucy Paige
1 work · Big Pine Key
1 work · Big Pine Key
Murals By Michael Kirby of Murals of Baltimore
An outdoor community venue hosting seasonal concerts, art festivals, and cultural events in the Lower Keys. The park's open-air pavilion provides a relaxed setting for performances and artistic gatherings under the island sky.
The park's community building, its name on the sign, from the county's own facility record.
Monroe County Parks and Recreation
1 work · Cudjoe Key
Stained Glass by the McMow Art Glass Team
Gaia Grossi, 2020
The artist draws strength and inspiration from the figure of Mother Earth, (Gaea in Latin), and her fascination with Japanese gardens. As a woman artist, she felt a strong need to focus on feminine energy and simplicity. Her commitment and sacrifice to her art created opportunity and new beginnings for her life.
Susan Markowitz Meredith, 2024
Features three intertwining three-dimensional forms, representing the concept of mutual arising. Drawing inspiration from intertwining spiral forms found in nature, the three central shoots rise from a common source and engage with one another. There is a progression of transparent step-like forms that serve as metaphors for an intangible growth process, suggesting that individual experiences are not isolated, and that society grows and flourishes by embracing our differences and recognizing our interconnections.
Frank Michielli, 2020
These pieces are inspired by the vibrant, physical qualities of the wave, captured by setting up a dynamic relationship between the layers and components of the sculpture. Its structural properties, the double curvature of the bent steel rods, are similar to the anatomy of a seashell.
Malin Abrahamsson
1 work · Stock Island
A multipurpose community space used for theatrical productions, concerts, dance recitals, and art exhibitions in the Lower Keys. The school cafetorium serves as a central gathering point for arts and cultural events.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
A collaborative work by all seven Model to Monument sculptors, 2017
A collaborative work by all seven M2M 2016 sculptors exploring the theme of air and sound. The Council names the seven as Aaron Bell, Sheila Berger, James Mikhel Emerson, Tanda Francis, Markus Rudolph Holtby, Sarah Thompson Moore and Shiho Sato.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
Coming back around October 2026, the artist expects.
Henry Roundtrip Marton Newman, 2024
Not its Keys placement: photographed at Riverside Park South, New York, where the work was first installed in 2024.
Photo by Rudy Bravo
Tanda Francis, 2017
This piece takes inspiration from ancient 13th century Yoruban sculptures.
Markus Rudolph Holtby, 2017
The artist considered Walt Whitman's classic text within the history of the original installation location, Riverside Park, being a re-purposed industrial park.
At The Sailor's Dog Spa
A volunteer-driven community theater in the heart of the Middle Keys, Marathon Community Theatre produces a full season of plays, musicals, and youth productions. The 100-seat venue serves as a cultural hub for Marathon and the surrounding islands.
1 work · Marathon
A charming tropical venue hosting art shows, craft fairs, concerts, and community gatherings in Marathon. The garden setting provides a unique atmosphere for cultural events and artistic exhibitions in the Middle Keys.
The club's garden grounds set for a ceremony. Not a portrait of the clubhouse.
Marathon Garden Club
2 works · Marathon
Marathon Library and Adult Education Center
Bubbles Carlos Alves and JC Carroll
Keys Whimsy Shawn Trentlage and Darcy Ferrill
Coming back to Marathon City Hall after construction.
Sydney Shen, 2024
Also known as: SBNO
Not its Keys placement: photographed at Riverside Park South, New York, where the work was first installed in 2024.
Photo by Rudy Bravo
Marco Palli, 2023
This artwork honors the evolving spirit of the United States, rooted in founding principles and ever shaped by change. Two open arches rise: one to enter, welcoming all who seek to belong, to grow, and to try again; one to exit, offering the freedom to explore new paths, to reinvent, and to return if called. "Our Gates" invites both locals and newcomers to engage with dignity in the collective journey of progress. It celebrates the pursuit of sustainable, equitable opportunity. Together, the gates stand in mutual support, like the diverse communities they represent.
Jamie Emerson, 2020
The artist uses contemporary iconography in a classic pyramid to promote and cultivate goodness for humanity. The title Red Nun is a metaphor for the channel marker signaling "Home".
From the Annual Gallery Guide
Aaron Bell, 2017
This sculpture cites Martin Luther King, Jr. as inspiration to generate dialogue for common decency and respect for others.
WPA and FERA site
Twenty-three houses originally constructed with WPA and Red Cross funds for victims who lost homes in the 1935 hurricane.
Twenty-three separate houses spread along the old State Road 4A.
A Red Cross house at Islamorada soon after the 1935 hurricane.
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. No known copyright.
Located at Coral Shores High School in Tavernier, this performing arts center serves the Upper Keys community with a 600-seat auditorium hosting school productions, visiting performers, community concerts, and cultural events. The venue is a vital resource for arts programming in the northern Keys.
Sarah Thompson Moore, 2017
Seeks to heighten one's senses and alter perspectives for the viewer and serves as a beacon. The piece is meant to create a space for inspiration and contemplation.
From the Council's archive
An outdoor amphitheater and community park in Islamorada offering waterfront performances, concerts, and community events. The park's bayside setting provides a stunning backdrop for arts and cultural programming in the Upper Keys.
Shiho Sato, 2017
Three monumental human-scale figures reflect the artist's hope to create ongoing dialogue with visitors and passersby within the calmness of nature.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Council's archive
Patricia Espinosa
WPA and FERA site
Designed by Harold Lawson and executed by Lampbert Bemelmann, and constructed with WPA funds as a memorial to victims of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.
Photo by Bcrford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
A community gathering space hosting art shows, musical performances, craft fairs, and cultural events. The Lions Club serves as a vital venue for arts programming in the Upper Keys, welcoming local and visiting artists alike.
From the Annual Gallery Guide
WPA and FERA site
Originally built by the WPA as a school and hurricane shelter in 1936. It contains six bas reliefs by Joan van Breeman.
The Islamorada branch photographed in 1965.
Florida Keys Public Libraries, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
From the Annual Gallery Guide
WPA and FERA site
Second floor hall contains five bas reliefs by Joan van Breeman.
Monroe County's Key Largo civic building, with a performing arts auditorium that serves as the Upper Keys' main venue for concerts, theater and community programming. It also holds a work from the Council's public art collection.
From the Council's archive
7 works · Key Largo
Easel Dwayne King, 2017
Untitled (mosaics) Bailey Cypress, 2017-2018
Man's Influence on the Upper Keys Cris Sandifer
Close Encounters Alan S. Maltz
Underwater Wonderland Stephen Frink
Native Canopy Xavier Cortada
Mangrove Canopy John David Hawver
2 works · Key Largo
Untitled (Relief Sculpture) Tom Virgin
Untitled (Paintings) Xavier Cortada
From the Annual Gallery Guide
From the Annual Gallery Guide
7 works · Plantation Key
Sea & Sky Lori Nozick
The Restless Sea Maureen Melville
Justice Lothar Speer
Paradise 88.8 Dayton Claudio
Untitled (Oil painting with pastels) John David Hawver
The Bounty of Plantation Key Sally Binard
Horizon Event Christian Eckart
Sophie Kahn, 2024
Portrait of T is part of a series of 3D scanned portraits of individuals who have experienced life-altering physical transformations. The finished work depicts individuals who often seem caught in private moments of reflection or reverie. Even though they are fragmented by technology, their gestures still read as emotional and very human.
3 works · Plantation Key
Conference Room Mural Debra Yates
Hallway Mural Rick Worth
Paintings John David Hawver
1 work · Tavernier
The Art in Public Places program brings visual art into the everyday lives of Florida Keys residents and visitors. It was established by Monroe County ordinance in 2001, which allocates one percent of the construction cost of new county buildings and major restorations to commissioning artwork for them. The committee is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, and the Florida Keys Council of the Arts serves as its staff.
The Council oversees the maintenance and conservation of the collection, working with artists, conservators and county facilities staff.
The Council runs two things that sound alike. Art in Public Places is the permanent collection above: artwork commissioned for Monroe County buildings under the county's one percent for art ordinance, and it stays where it is installed.
Art in Public Buildings is the other one. Rather than commissioning work, it borrows it, and hangs it on a rotation in civic buildings around the Keys so that county offices, courthouses and clinics show real art by Keys artists. It has been organized by volunteers.
If you are an artist who would like to show work this way, or you want to know what is currently hanging, email info@keysarts.com or call 305-295-4369.
Art in Public Places Committee
Florida Keys Council of the Arts
1100 Simonton Street, Key West, FL 33040
Phone: (305) 295-4369
Email: info@keysarts.com
The vision of Key West philanthropists Mr. John Padget and the late Mr. Jacob Dekker launched the public art sculpture trail project in 2017 along U.S. 1, the Overseas Highway, an All-American Road. The trail features 19 sculptures created by The Art Students League of New York's Works in Public program, and is a generous gift to the residents and visitors of Monroe County, Florida.
The Art Students League of New York is one of America's premier art schools. It was founded in 1875 by artists, for artists, to provide affordable studio-based art education of the highest quality. Great artists have trained, taught, and exhibited at the League throughout its rich history. Classes, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and professional development programs continue the League's legacy of supporting students who intend to make art a profession and cultivating a spirit of community among artists. Among its prominent instructors and students, the League counts Thomas Eakins, Frederic Remington and Reginald Marsh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, and Jackson Pollock.
The Council is the acting Public Art Administrator for both the Monroe County and City of Key West's prestigious 1% for Public Art programs. Executive Director Elizabeth Young and Art in Public Places County Chair Susann D'Antonio co-curated the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail on behalf of benefactors John Padget and the late Jacob Dekker.
In the 1930s the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration put artists to work in the Florida Keys. Murals, bas reliefs, watercolors and prints from that decade are still here, in libraries and courthouses and bars and museums, most of them free to walk in and see.
The Council mapped 16 of them for a printed brochure, researched by Malcolm Ross. This is that list, with 14 of the sites placed on the map above. The numbers are the Council's own and have not been changed.
Several of these sites are working offices, private businesses or schools. Check opening hours, and ask at the desk before looking around. The artists are below.
The 19 artists whose Depression-era work survives in the Keys. These biographies are the Council's own, written for its printed brochure.
Originally from Maine, Beck studied at the Art Student's League of New York. As state artist of Maine, he executed many projects for the Maine Planning Board, as well as numerous woodcarvings at the Washington, D.C. zoo.
No information is known about this contributor who executed the design of Harold Lawson for the Islamorada Hurricane Monument.
Born in Ohio, Blodgett attended Grand Central Art School in New York, where he also studied under George Luks. His Key West work went to U.S. government buildings in Washington, D.C. and around the world. His illustrations also appeared in Fortune, Art News, and Scribners Magazine, and his work was exhibited at galleries and museums throughout the country.
Born in Sicily, Crimi studied fresco painting in Rome, and was a member of the National Academy of Design. He created a fresco at the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., as well as numerous other murals and mosaics around the country. His work has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, the Chicago Art Institute and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also has been an instructor at the City College of New York, Pratt Institute and Pennsylvania State University.
Born in the Netherlands, Dornbush studied in Europe and at Wisconsin University. He lectured at the Chicago Art Institute and exhibited his work in international watercolor shows. He was the first director of the Key West artists group.
Originally from Savannah, Hoffman studied at the Art Student's League of New York, as well as in Munich and Paris. With his first wife, Martine, he painted murals in the Carnegie Library in Savannah. Hoffman left Key West in 1936, working as a designer for Philco. In 1965, he retired and returned to Key West with his wife, Julia.
From Milwaukee, Jansen studied in Milwaukee and at the Art Student's League in New York. He taught at the Layton School of Art, exhibited in many leading watercolor shows, and was a contributor to Fortune.
From Illinois, and a graduate of Wheaton College and the Chicago Art Institute, Johnson was a member of many watercolor societies. His work has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is represented in numerous private collections, including that of the late president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Johnson also taught at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, as well as other New Jersey Venues.
Born in New York, La Cagnina studied at Copper Union, the Phoenix Art Institute, and under numerous artists, including Norman Rockwell. He was associated with leading decorators in New York, and specialized in tapestries, screens and murals. He currently lives in North Carolina.
Born in Cleveland, Laufman studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Student's League of New York. In the 1920s, he painted and exhibited in Europe, and his work is represented in the Whitney and Cleveland Museums and many private collections.
No information is known about him except for his design of the Islamorada Hurricane Monument.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Morgan studied at Pratt Institute and the Art Student's League of New York. He is best known for his etchings shown in major print exhibitions. He succeeded Adrian Dornbush as the Director of Key West's artists group, and also worked as an instructor of printmaking during the latter phases of the WPA Art Program.
From Wisconsin, Rotier studied at the Art Student's League of New York and the Chicago Academy. He taught at the Milwaukee Art Institute and exhibited in New York, Chicago, Washington and international watercolor shows.
From Illinois, Sargent studied at the Washington Studio School and the Corcoran Academy. His work has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art and the Corcoran. He is best known as a watercolorist, and contributed frequently to Fortune and created many covers for the Saturday Evening Post.
From Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Sauer studied with Henry Hensche and James Kirk Merrick. In 1938, she began teaching watercolor and weaving at Key West Art Center. She currently lives in Key West.
Born in the U.S., Smith studied in France, Italy and Sweden. His work is found in many private collections, as well as New York's Whitney Museum and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
From Holly Springs, Mississippi, Taylor studied at the St. Louis School of Art, and taught drawing and painting at the Key West Art Center. She directed excavation of East Martello Tower and became the first curator of the East Martello Museum.
The scarce biographical information indicates that Van Breeman lived in South Florida.
From Carmel, California, Wood studied at Dexel and the Philadelphia School of Architecture, and taught at the California College of Fine Arts. His paintings have been in the Brooklyn and Cleveland Museums, the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and many private collections. He also worked in almost every phase of pictoral arts, as well in architecture, and was a frequent contributor to Fortune.