Exhibits

FOOD: Celebrating Conch Cuisine The Smithsonian Museums Food Exhibits exist to showcase the important role food plays in shaping culture, history, and identity. The Key West exhibit aims to educate visitors about the origins and evolution of our local Conch Cuisine, as well as the social and political factors that influence food production and consumption. […]

Shadow & Light: A Juried Exhibition The Key West Art & Historical Society will host its bi-annual juried exhibition Shadow & Light, slated to open in November 2025 at the Key West Museum of Art & History.  Shadow & Light is open to all artists living and creating in the Florida Keys.  The exhibition beckons […]

Human Interest: Portraits by Jack Baron This exhibition of luminescent needlepoint tapestries and acrylic paintings represents a 20-year commitment by Jack Baron, Key West’s beloved folk artist.  His subject matter was inspired by his Key West friends, neighbors, conch houses, roosters, and cats.  Each artwork is presented in his uniquely whimsical and effervescent style. A […]

The Stonewall Uprising: The Start of a Movement This exhibition, on temporary loan from the Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library, will be on display during Pride Month at the Key West Museum of Art & History.  Museum visitors will be transported back to the iconic New York City bar hours before the historic Stonewall […]

Ray Rolston (September 29, 1947 – April 30, 2019), affectionately known as “Papa Ray,” was a distinguished artist celebrated for his vibrant depictions of Key West, Florida. Born in British Guyana, a nation rich in dense rainforests and cascading waterfalls, Ray’s early environment profoundly influenced his artistic vision. From a young age, he immersed himself […]

Collecting Key West: The Work of Mario Sanchez Regarded as one of the leading folk artists of the 20th century, Mario Sanchez (1908-2005) was born in Key West, the descendant of Cuban immigrants with connections to the cigar industry.  Drawing inspiration from the Gatoville neighborhood where he was raised, Sanchez carved nostalgic scenes of the […]

Visions of Florida: The Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher Discover an undisturbed paradise that is rapidly disappearing.  Through the eyes of one of America’s finest landscape photographers, journey into the realm of natural Florida – a world seldom seen either by tourists or longtime residents. Visions of Florida features the art of a photographer often […]

The biannual art exhibition, From a Woman’s Hand, juried by arts community leaders Emma Starr, Martha Resk, Elena Devers, and Cori Convertito, PhD, illuminates the remarkable achievements of women artists who have been marginalized for centuries.  Among the 50 artists that have work included in the exhibit are Maggie Ruley displaying a large acrylic painting titled […]

The Key West Art and Historical Society is building cultural equity by telling the stories of the Black community’s significant contributions to local culture and industry, as documented in artwork and historic documents. This online exhibition seeks to redress a serious omission – that the substantial contributions of people of color are under-represented in our […]