Something to Declare

Stef and Stan in Sarasota.

February 3, 2026

Stef’s late mom (Ruth) lived in Sarasota for many years, and Stef was a frequent visitor. Ruth died in 2020 at the age of 106!! For the past several years, the two of us have been snow-birding here for two-week winter stays.

The usual experience has been to leave temperatures in the 30s for temperatures in the 70s and 80s. We’ve been renting apartments on Sarasota’s Siesta Key, doing our usual activities (keeping up with the news, enjoying food and wine, socializing, listening to and playing music, binge-ing on our favorite TV series, etc.). But also enjoying the warmer weather and a slower pace, and the view from our deck of the Intercoastal Waterway.

There is also the best walking beach in the world:

The sand is velvety but hard-packed; you can bike on it.

This year, with NY temperatures in the teens and single digits, it felt particularly necessary to get away. (I mean, “get me out of here!“)

What we hadn’t expected was the breadth of the cold front, i.e., finding the temps down here in the 30s and 40s. Yegods, we had never had to use the heat in our Florida condo before, Jeez!

Fortunately, Sarasota has a good degree of cultural richness, viz., the Sarasota Art Museum (SAM); Ca d’Zan (the Ringling family complex including the Ringling Museum of Art, a Circus Museum –big surprise there, right?– the Ringling family mansion and grounds); the Selby Botanical Gardens; the Mote Marine Laboratory (local aquarium); and local performing arts.

As you may recall, one of the highlights of our recent Belgium trip was the Van Buuren House, an Art Deco treasure in Brussels. So we were pleased that the SAM ( located in a former high school building)…..

…was featuring the exhibit, “Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration.”

But first things first. We started at the top floor, where there was an exhibit of the works of Janet Eschelman.

Eschelman is an interdisciplinary American artist who has done paintings in oils (see above), but whose works also include textile crafts and centuries-old fishing net knotting and splicing techniques.

Exquisite stuff! The third floor also included a special installation of Christian Sampson, another multimedia artist, whose work features colored acrylic and sun rays:

But, as noted, the real highlight was the Art Deco.

The installation consists of rare posters and other items from the collection of local philanthropists, Bill and Elaine Crouse. The posters reflect the Art Deco graphic design that became prominent in the 1920s and 1930s, which celebrated the introduction of “modern” ideas such as electrification and public health:

The works also promoted the new post-World War I consumer culture, touting jewelry and designer eyeglasses (!) and entertainment, including a period ticket booth (below, lower right):

(The poster above, upper right, says, “Wear jewelry and you win.” Well, there you go.

In the 1920s there was growing interest in vices such as alcohol, tobacco and (drum roll , please) chocolate:

The ad in the lower left, above: “Pleasure is Lyra Extra.” (Although, between you and me, he doesn’t look like he’s experiencing a lot of pleasure.)

There were several cases displaying avant-garde cocktail shakers (one in the shape of an artillery shell!), and cigar holders in the wings of stylized airplanes:

The increase in appreciation of the postwar world was reflected in posters for various media…

…and for motorcars (the artsy ad in the lower right, below, was for motor oil)…

…and for air and sea travel.

We were blown away by the SAM. And by the news that the temperatures are creeping upward. This afternoon it got up to 60 degrees!