“Florida Byways” at the Maitland Historical Museum

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

It’s time for another embarrassing confession from someone who has lived in the central Florida area since 2003…

I had never visited the Art & History Museums of Maitland until this summer. I know. I’m terrible!

Currently on view at the Maitland Historical Museum is Florida Byways: Jules Andre Smith and the Bok Fellows. This exhibition focuses primarily on the work of artist Jules Andre Smith who built an artists’ colony called The Research Studio near Lake Sybelia in Maitland, FL in the 1930’s.

Smith depicts a version of Florida most people would never recognize in 2022 as towns like Sanford, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando are painted as small collections of wooden buildings alongside dirt and sand roads instead of the sprawling, highly populated cities we know today.

That said, I think that to fully appreciate this particular exhibition and the artist’s depictions of a Florida long lost to the very worst aspects of urban planning and development, one must take the time to wander the grounds of the Art & History Museums to see the creative refuge that Smith built.

Please enjoy a few photos from my visit to The Research Studio and its surrounding grounds. Note the inclusion of “Mayan Revival” architectural details and the focus on nature and serenity. Despite its location not far from the ever busy Orlando Avenue (Highway 17-92), the Research Studio remains a peaceful respite from the chaos of 21st century life and offers a brief trip back in time to what some historians refer to as the “genuine Florida.”

To plan your visit to the Art & History Museums in Maitland, FL, please check out this link…

Maitland Art Center

For more information on the Florida Byways exhibition, please visit…

Florida Byways: Jules André Smith and the Bok Fellows

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.