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Leoma Lovegrove, Matlacha Artist Painting Acquired

by Donna Gilles 07/25/2017

Lovegrove paintings acquired by Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy

July 5, 2017
Special to The Eagle ([email protected]) , Pine Island Eagle

Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens has announced the acquisition of four paintings by The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy. Located in Sarasota, the museum has a growing reputation for collecting and exhibiting culturally-significant, contemporary artwork that celebrates upbeat themes and whimsical notions.

"We are very fortunate to have Leoma Lovegrove's work in our permanent collection," Marietta (Mary) Lee, the museum's founder and curator, said in a release announcing the acquisition.

Lee said she was attracted to the paintings because of their bright and cheerful motifs and adroit workmanship.

Article Photos

Leoma Lovegrove’s “My Glamper” painting recently acquired by The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy in Sarasota.

PHOTO PROVIDED

The four paintings that Lee selected for her museum come from Lovegrove's "Florida Floats My Boat" series, which she painted for Bealls in 2016. Images from the series appear on a host of Bealls' products, including tees, tanks and other tops; nightgowns; totes; beach umbrellas, chairs and towels; watches and jewelry; and sundry housewares. Like The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy, Bealls fell in love with Lovegrove's bold, vibrant colors and her uncanny ability to capture in acrylic Southwest Florida's active, healthy, water-based lifestyle. Today, Lovegrove's images appear on millions of Bealls products, which are sold in each of the chain's 74 brick-and-mortar Florida stores, as well as online.

Each of the paintings The Marietta Museum purchased measures 36 by 48 inches. "Our House" depicts a beach house with two cats in the yard. "Mozart" is a homage to the artist's beloved Moluccan cockatoo. "My Glamper" is inspired by Lovegrove's colorfully wrapped, trademark mobile art studio (which appeared on the cover of Summer, 2014 issue of "Studios" magazine). "Beach'n Ride" depicts a bicycle that Lovegrove once displayed in her own botanical garden on Matlacha Island.

Dedicated to "collecting, preserving and exhibiting works of artistic and whimsical importance," The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is only open to the public between 1- 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, in season, which runs this year from Nov. 16, 2017, through May 27, 2018.

Located at 2121 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, the museum is identifiable by the three bright pink, 1,200-pound flamingos that stand outside its entrance and lauded for its lush, tropical sculpture garden that features flocks of plastic flamingos as well as three winged pink pigs preparing to take flight. While admission is free, the non-profit museum does appreciate a $5 donation per person. For additional information, please visit www.whimsymuseum.org or telephone 941-364-3399.

Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her vivid colorful paintings. A graduate of Florida's prestigious Ringling School of Art + Design, Lovegrove makes her home on Matlacha Island, where she welcomes thousands of visitors each year to her gallery, international headquarters and own botanical gardens. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe, including the private collection of the White House in Washington, D.C. and the Presidential Library of George W. Bush in Dallas, Texas. Her portrait of Jimmy Carter hangs in his Presidential Library in Atlanta, Georgia and that of Sir Richard Branson is displayed in the London headquarters of Virgin Airlines. Her artwork has also graced the windows at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Lovegrove has the honor and distinction of being the first American to paint on the replica of Claude Monet's floating studio in Giverny, France, and to exhibit work in Pierre Bonnard's home in Vernon, France. Her mural, "The Catch of Matlacha Island," greets visitors as the cross the bridge onto the island, and her work is part of the public art collections of both the city of Fort Myers and Florida Gulf Coast University.

 
 

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Donna Gilles

Phil Gilles

Direct: 239-425-5423 | Email: [email protected] 

Donna Gilles

Direct: 239-425-5426 | Email: [email protected] 

Donna and Phil Gilles are two of the most respected Pine Island Florida Real Estate Agents. Their dependability, honesty and integrity are truly a "cut above” in the real estate profession. 

Donna and Phil started BlueWater Realty of Pine Island on September 11, 2002, realizing Pine Island was in need of a real estate family that was a step above the mass marketers that dominate the real estate profession. Donna and Phil’s in depth real estate training include: investment management, brokerage, marketing high-end homes, real estate law, ethics and practice.

If your immediate future requires counseling in the purchase or sale of real estate, please contact Donna or Phil. They are professionals who will work hard for you to help achieve your real estate goals