Museum of Arts and Sciences - Daytona Beach, Florida

This exhibition has been drawn from the largest known private collection of Florida-based art in existence today. "Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865-1965", from the collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown, makes its exhibition debut at the Museum of Arts & Sciences on November 21, 2009.

From idyllic beach scenes to lush green jungles, “Reflections” highlights a total of 69 paintings depicting the natural beauty of the state before the great post-World War II building boom. 

“Together, Cici and Hyatt Brown have assembled a collection that is not only historical in nature but also incredible in its beauty and represents the very best of Florida art,” notes MOAS Executive Director, Wayne D. Atherholt. “We are honored that they have selected MOAS for the collection’s first-ever public showing.”

“Reflections” features masterworks by well-known American artists, including Thomas Hart Benton, William Aiken Walker, Martin Johnson Heade, Frederic Remington, Herman Herzog, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Walt Kuhn, N.C. Wyeth and Jane Peterson.

“While beautifully expressing the uniqueness of Florida, ‘Reflections’ transcends the usual limitations of regional art because of its extraordinary quality and the importance of art in shaping Florida’s image,” said MOAS Gary R. Libby Curator of Art, Jay Williams.

The collection subject matter includes: famous landmarks and structures, such as the buildings of St. Augustine and Key West; historical portraits of native Floridians; and location-specific landscapes.

“Just as all Americans take pride in artistic ownership of the California coast and the canyon country of the Southwest, the Florida preserved in the paintings of the Brown Collection is an essential part of our shared natural and artistic heritage,” said Williams.

Book About the Exhibition

A 200-page hard cover catalogue will accompany the exhibition. This volume, Reflections: Paintings of Florida 1865-1965 From the Collection of Cici and Hyatt Brown is a fresh look at the ‘Florida school of painters’ and at the aesthetic pleasure and the historical and social significance which is reflected in a representative selection of paintings from the larger Brown Collection.

The book’s author, Gary R. Libby “hopes that this volume and the treasures it contains will contribute to the heightened public interest and enjoyment in the art, history and culture of Florida, including its important yet often overlooked role in the genesis of the visual arts in the South.”

About Cici and Hyatt Brown

Cici Brown was born in western Massachusetts and educated at Westbrook College in Portland, Maine. In 1961, Mrs. Brown moved to New York City where she joined the Executive Training Program at Saks Fifth Avenue and eventually became a buyer. In 1965, she married Hyatt Brown and moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, where she became a member of the area’s Junior League with a volunteer placement at the Museum of Arts and Sciences. “Florida’s beauty, with its native vegetation, wildlife, and amazing range of color and light as represented in this collection and the quality of the execution of the pieces tells the viewer a lot about Cici Brown,” noted Atherholt.

Hyatt Brown is the retired Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Daytona Beach, FL based insurer Brown & Brown Inc. Mr. Brown was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1980, and Speaker of the House from 1978 to 1980. He serves on the Board of Directors of International Speedway Corporation, FPL Group, Inc., and Rock-Tenn Company. Atherholt notes that, “The deep Florida roots of Hyatt Brown and his passion for the history of this state is more than evident in this collection.”