A Legacy
in the Making: Sarasota’s Visual Arts History

1945-1965

The Sarasota Artist Colony

Sarasota’s visual arts legacy took root in the early 20th century and flourished in the decades following World War II, when the city earned national recognition as an “Artists Colony.” This website celebrates the pioneering artists who shaped that legacy and honors the formative years of the Sarasota Art Colony.

A vibrant, lush forest scene with a large, textured tree trunk at the center, surrounded by green foliage, including plants with long, curved leaves, and smaller plants with red and pink leaves, creating a dense, tropical atmosphere.

JOHN RINGLING’S CONTRIBUTIONS

1911-1936

John Ringling played a pivotal role in shaping Sarasota into a cultural destination. As a visionary art collector and philanthropist, he established The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, anchoring the city’s identity as a center for the arts. Beyond culture, Ringling invested heavily in Sarasota’s development—helping to expand infrastructure, promote tourism, and elevate the city’s national profile—leaving a lasting legacy that continues to define Sarasota today.

A distinguished man wearing a suit, tie, overcoat, and a fedora hat, standing outdoors with a cane in one hand and a cigar in the other, in front of a building with arched windows.

Ringling served as a major contributor to Sarasota’s culture

Aerial view of a large outdoor event with a tent, buildings, and surrounding area, black and white photograph.

A black and white photograph of a courtyard with a large statue of a standing man in the foreground, surrounded by trees, neatly trimmed bushes, and classical architecture with arched walkways and balustrades.

In 1927, Sarasota became the winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, cementing the city’s lasting connection to one of the most famous entertainment institutions in the world.

Between 1927 and 1930, John Ringling transformed his Sarasota estate into a cultural landmark, with the completion of Ca’ d’Zan and the opening of the Ringling Museum of Art, shaping the city’s artistic legacy for generations to come.

Black and white photo of HOTEL BAYHAVEN, now Ringling College of Art in Sarasota, Florida, circa 1930. The building is a large, multi-story structure with a flat roof and small decorative towers at the corners. Several vintage cars are parked in front, and a few people are visible near the entrance, with a streetlamp and overhead utility lines also in view.

The founding of the Ringling School of Art in 1931 marked a new chapter in Sarasota’s cultural growth, extending John Ringling’s vision from collecting art to cultivating future generations of artists.

The Early ringling school of art Instructors

1931-1945

In the years leading up to 1945, the Ringling School of Art was shaped by a distinguished and diverse faculty whose influence helped define its early character. Instructors during this formative period included George Ennis, Hilton Leech, Bern Bullard, Donald Blake, Lucile Blanch, Loran Wilford, Stanley Woodward, Guy Saunders, Christopher Clark, and many others, each contributing to the school’s growing reputation as a serious center for artistic training and innovation.

1940’s

ARRIVAL OF VETERANS

Sarasota's Ringling School of Art, in the years following the end of WWIl, saw an influx of veterans eager to study art with funding from the GI Bill. These were young men direct from the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific and once introduced to Sarasota many chose to make it their home and thus helped create a community of artists and art lovers that endures to this day.

Black and white photo of Lower Main Street in Sarasota, Florida, taken in the 1940s. Vintage cars are parked along the street with some driving, and pedestrians are walking on the sidewalk. Buildings with signs for stores, a hotel, and floral shop line the street.

Sarasota’s Main Street in the 1940s

Four men in uniform riding bicycles under a large sign that reads 'Sarasota Jungle' in front of a building.

Two soldiers in uniform standing next to a large wooden sign that reads 'Sarasota Army Air Field' with symbols of a bird and an aircraft.

Soldiers in Sarasota

Soldiers at Army airfield

A soldier in uniform and helmet standing near a street sign that says 'Chau Thierry 0.5'. A church and a person in the background.

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, this act, also known as the G.I. Bill, provided World War II veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing. It put higher education within the reach of millions of veterans of WWIl and later military conflicts.

Black and white photo of seven women standing on a street corner, some wearing dresses with high heels, and three men standing near a building with a sign that reads 'Springling School of Art', in a vintage downtown setting.

Ringling School of Art attendance during the war years was seldom more than fifty or sixty and most were young women.

By 1949 returning veterans had swelled the student population to 250. Ringling school of art was the first school in the state of Florida to be certified for the GI Bill.

Black and white group photo of approximately 20 young adults and a few middle-aged individuals, some seated on the grass in front and others standing behind, in front of a stone building with two windows. The photo features handwritten names and notes overlayed, indicating identification of some individuals, with various casual clothing styles and some individuals shirtless, suggesting a summer or outdoor setting.

A landscape painting of a rural scene with a cloudy sky, green fields, a dirt road, a small building, and several people walking, rendered in an impressionist style with loose, vibrant brushstrokes.

A black and white drawing of a palm tree on a beach with clouds in the sky. Text at the bottom reads "RINGLING School of ART SARASOTA FLORIDA."

A collection of five watercolor paintings depicting Florida landscapes and outdoor scenes, including people in a natural setting, a boat on water, a sailing boat, a truck at a gas station, and a boat docked at a shore.

William Hartman painting of Ringling School of Art bus with landscape class on Longboat Key

Art Students in 1946

Ringling School of Art 1946 brochure

1926-active

the Sarasota Art Association

Before Sarasota had private galleries where an artists work could be shown the Sarasota Art Association was the showcase for local talent. Established in 1926 by Marcia Rader and incorporated in 1941 as a not-for-profit the SAA constructed it's Sarasota School of Architecture building on city donated land in 1949. Now known as Art Center Sarasota it continues to be the beating heart of the Sarasota visual arts scene.

Illustration of a diverse group of people at a special events night, with some talking, some taking photos, and others engaging in activities, organized by the Sarasota Art Association.

Sarasota Art Association Exterior

An outdoor art exhibition in front of the Sarasota Art Association building, displaying numerous framed paintings and artworks with several people viewing the art.

Sarasota Art Association Event Poster

The Post-War Art School Boom

1956

Sarasota in the pre-war years had been blessed with a number of private art schools where one could receive instruction however the post-war years saw an exponential increase in private art classes and by 1956 thirteen schools offered instruction to an estimated 1500 aspiring artists living in the greater Sarasota ared. In part, this was a result of so many artist veterans and their families choosing to make Sarasota their home and their need to earn a living. Art instruction put food on the table and kept these artists fully engaged in their chosen profession.

A variety of newspaper clippings and art school brochures.

A man in a white shirt and tie stands in a room with wood-paneled walls, holding a paintbrush and standing next to an easel with a blank canvas.

Artist Syd Solomon

Artist Hilton Leech

Portrait of a man with a serious expression, sitting at a wooden table outdoors, surrounded by trees, with various objects including sculptures and a geometric frame in front of him.

Artist Jerry Farnsworth

Artist Veron Volez

Hartman Gallery painting class

Hilton Leech class

Hartman Gallery

A smiling man holding an artist's palette and standing next to an easel, in front of empty picture frames, in a studio setting.

A man with a mustache and dark hair drawing on an easel in a room with wood-paneled walls, with a large, twisted piece of driftwood or decorative wood sculptural art in the foreground and a framed picture on the wall behind him.

A group of five people outdoors around a painting. A woman in a white dress is sitting on a stool, a man in a white shirt is holding a palette and camera, a woman in a pink dress with a large hat and bag is standing, and a man in a blue striped shirt is sitting on the ground. There are palm trees and a lake in the background.

Artists Jerry Farnsworth and Helen Sawyer

Black and white photo of an outdoor art class or workshop in a park with many people, some drawing or painting at easels, others observing. Large trees in the background provide shade, with supplies and artwork visible.

Group of people painting and sketching by a river under a bridge, with boats and a dock visible in the background.

Laura Locke Class

Bob Chase class

Group of people, mostly women, painting and drawing outdoors near a body of water, with trees and houses in the background.

Black and white photo of a life drawing class with models and multiple artists sketching in an art studio.

A woman standing outside a building with a sign that reads 'Ralph.' The building has a sign pointing to Hartman Gallery on First Street and another sign for School of Charm. The woman is wearing a light-colored dress and holding a small purse, and there is a palm plant in front of the building.

SARASOTa’s rise to recognition

Artist Ads

Published annually from 1950 to 1959, the Sarasota Arts Review was a special arts feature of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Within its pages, artists frequently placed advertisements showcasing their work, often sponsored by downtown Sarasota storefronts—reflecting a close relationship between the city’s creative community and its local businesses.

1950-1959

the Sarasota Art REVIEW

In the early 1950s, Five Points emerged as the cultural crossroads of Sarasota—a lively hub within the city’s burgeoning downtown. As Sarasota boomed in the postwar years, galleries, studios, theaters, and gathering spaces clustered around Five Points, reflecting a growing optimism and creative energy that helped define the city’s identity as a thriving arts destination.

Black and white illustration of Sarasota's 1951 downtown area showing cars, pedestrians, and shops around a central roundabout with a clock tower. The drawing captures a busy, lively street scene.

5 Points Cartoon, Sarasota Art Review, 1951

The Sarasota Arts Review (1950–1959) was an annual arts feature in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that documented and promoted the city’s growing cultural life. Rather than a fixed section, it functioned as a flexible platform covering exhibitions, performances, and artists, helping shape Sarasota’s identity as an emerging arts center. Featured on this screen is a series of artist ads featuring many of the Colony Artists.

A hand-drawn map of Sarasota, Florida, showcasing art galleries, schools, artists' homes, and favorite painting spots, with key locations labeled along the coastline and inland, including landmarks like Ringling Art Museum, Sarasota School of Art, and Riegel's Boat Yard.

Sarasota Artist Map, Sarasota Art Review, 1953 featuring Sarasota Colony Artist studios, galleries, schools, and favorite painting spots.

on the edge of abstraction

1950’s

In the 1950s abstraction was just making inroads into the Sarasota art scene. Painterly, representational landscapes, portraits, ands till lifes were generally favored.

Beaux arts ball

late 1940’s-early 1960’s

The Sarasota Beaux Arts Ball was an annual costume gala that became one of the city’s most anticipated social events from the late 1940s into the early 1960s, drawing crowds of artists, patrons, and community members with its spectacular themes and elaborate costumes. It continued in earnest through the early ’60s before fading out later that decade, with occasional revivals in the ’70s and ’80s.

Vintage photo of a woman in a pink and white samba costume with large feathered wings, and a man in a shiny blue and green costume with large feathered wings, standing in front of a group of people sitting and observing in the background.

BEAUX ARTS BALL EVENT

A vintage black-and-white photo of a woman with long, platinum blonde hair and a man with platinum blonde hair holding hands inside a restaurant or banquet hall. The woman is wearing tight jeans and a floral top, while the man is shirtless, with a surreal creature with the body of a horse and human arms attached behind him. There are several people seated and standing in the background, dressed in vintage attire.

Beaux Arts Ball event

A black and white illustration of a woman with long, textured hair wearing jewelry including earrings and a chain headband. She has a serious expression and is holding a cup or goblet. Text below reads '6th Annual Beaux Arts Ball Souvenir Program' in bold letters with a pink background.

Black and white collage of photos from the Beraux Arts Ball in 1950, showing prize winners and dancers, with labeled captions including Ben and Hilah Armstrong, Nancy Coldwell, Charley Bradley, Barbara Plummer, Roi Gilvard, Emily Hensley, Dan Dands, and Zeke Pollock.

Beaux Arts Ball spread

Beaux Arts Ball poster

1953-active today

the Petticoat Painters

In 1953, artist and gallery owner Marty Hartman, angered because she felt that women artists were being slighted by male paternalism organized a showing of woman artists. The following year she did it again and joined the group which then named itself the Petticoat Painters. The organization is still active and among the oldest women's art cooperatives in the nation.

Group of women viewing and discussing paintings in an art gallery, with one woman standing on a stool to examine a large abstract black and white artwork.

The Petticoat Painters

Vintage black-and-white photo of eight women, some sitting on a sofa and others standing behind, engaged in conversation in a living room setting with a lamp and a table.

The Petticoat Painters

Artist Christmas Cards

1945-1965

The Sarasota Colony artists from 1945 to 1965 formed a close-knit creative community, bound by both professional and personal relationships. Around the holiday season, many exchanged handmade Christmas cards, treating these small works as intimate extensions of their artistic practice. On view is a selection of these cards, which reveal the time, care, and individuality invested in each one, expressing not only affection among the artists themselves but also a warm regard for one another’s families.