Palm Beach has long been home to those who seek after beautiful things – to create them, to cherish them and to collect them.
In her new book, local gallery owner and author Deborah Pollack weaves the story of Palm Beach’s history as told through 125 years of its artwork. Palm Beach Visual Arts (200 pages, Pelican Publishing Co., $34.95) wraps its narrative around every conceivable art form – painting, photography, jewelry, architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and fashion.
Produced in collaboration with the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, the book introduces us to dozens of painters, photographers, sculptors and collectors. Its pages open with the earliest artists to work on the island, including George Wills Potter, who sketched island life for his real estate company brochures. We read the story of how Pan of Rohallion (still residing in Pan’s Garden) became one of the nation’s earliest pieces of public art. The book walks us through several eras and into the present day, where you’ll meet our own Sandra Thompson, longtime cover illustrator of the Palm Beach Real Estate Guide.
Palm Beach artists and art lovers have always lived passionate and interesting lives, and Pollack also explores their romances, relationships and heartbreaks. As charming as Palm Beach itself, the book perfectly captures the sense that the island’s history, people and art have been woven together since the first brushstroke.
Cover photo courtesy of Penguin Publishing
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