Permanent Exhibition at the Custom House Museum

Depicting Hemingway: Guy Harvey Sketches ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ features 59 original pen-and-ink drawings by internationally-renowned marine wildlife artist and conservationist, Guy Harvey.  The sketches follow the narrative of Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Old Man and the Sea.

Widely recognized today as one of the world’s finest marine wildlife artists, Guy Harvey combines his unique artistic talents with his background as a marine biologist, diver, photographer and angler, to create magnificent marine wildlife art. Guy’s artistic roots can be traced back to his childhood on the island of Jamaica, where he spent many hours fishing and diving. While attending a boarding school in England, Guy became captivated by Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and subsequently began developing a series of sketches which are featured in this exhibition.  His illustrations of the tale of Santiago’s epic battle with the marlin helped launch Guy Harvey’s career as an artist.

To complement Guy Harvey’s sketches, a number of artifacts belonging to the Museum’s Hemingway Collection are showcased in this exhibition.  Most noteworthy is the life-sized bronze ‘Ernest Hemingway in Key West’ statue by historical sculptor, Terry Jones.  Other objects include a 1930s-era painting entitled ‘Hemingway and Friends’ depicting the author at his favorite watering hole, Sloppy Joe’s, as well as a pair of Hemingway’s boxing gloves.

Sponsored in part by Dave and Cheryl Copham.

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