Past

Elements of Art

January 11 -  February 5, 2023

An exhibition of artwork from Marion County Independent School students. (more…)

Finding Beauty : A Collaborative Exhibition with Ocala Civic Theatre

May 13, 2022 -  January 15, 2023

“Finding Beauty” merges costumes, drawings and more from Ocala Civic Theatre's production of “Beauty and the Beast” with the objects from the Appleton collection that inspired them. (more…)

A Dickens Christmas : The Urban Family's Holiday Exhibition

November 8, 2022 -  January 8, 2023

Immerse yourself in the spirit of the holidays in the annual “A Dickens Christmas: The Urban Family's Holiday Exhibition.” (more…)

Sintiendo la Exposición : Works from the Permanent Collection

August 12, 2022 -  January 8, 2023

On view in the second-floor galleries, this exhibition debuts work by modern and contemporary Argentinian, Cuban and Mexican artists. A wide range of artists and styles are showcased that evoke national pride and place indigenous and national traditions on the global stage. Sculptures, photographs, prints, drawings and paintings are included. (more…)

BLOW UP II : Inflatable Contemporary Art

October 8 -  December 11, 2022

"BLOW UP II: Inflatable Contemporary Art" explores the imaginative and often whimsical ways that artists use air as a tool for creating large-scale sculpture. The eight internationally renowned artists of the super-sized inflatable installations translate everyday materials into a wide array of figurative, conceptual and abstract imagery that are rich with meaning. (more…)

"BLOW UP II: Inflatable Contemporary Art” was organized by Carrie Lederer, Curator of Exhibitions, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.

Invented Observations : Photographs by Steven Benson

April 26 -  November 13, 2022

Benson’s photographs find magic in things, places, people and processes not intended to carry any grand significance, representing a search for meaning influenced by Existentialist writers like Camus, Kafka and Dostoevsky. (more…)

Connecting Pop!

June 13 -  November 13, 2022

The Pop Art movement of the mid-1950s through the 1960s challenged high-society expectations of art by appropriating bright and colorful subjects of popular culture, often removing them entirely from context. (more…)

Dianora Niccolini : Works from the Permanent Collection

August 8 -  October 16, 2022

Seven black-and-white photographs from the permanent collection by Dianora Niccolini (b. 1936) that celebrate the male form. (more…)

Mobile Photography : Contest and Exhibition

August 18 -  September 11, 2022

An exhibition featuring 1,073 photographs submitted to the annual Mobile Photography Contest. Photos were inspired by four categories: Accidentally Awesome, In Motion, Portrait and Nature. (more…)

Depicting the Dancer : Artworks by Ernst Oppler

January 26 -  August 7, 2022

Works from the permanent collection by German artist Ernst Oppler. It is said that Oppler’s fascination with dance began on May 5th, 1909 after seeing acclaimed Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova perform. (more…)

Superintendent’s Art Show

April 26 -  May 8, 2022

An annual exhibition featuring one work of art that best represents the art program from each Marion County Public School. (more…)

Appleton Studio Art Showcase

May 10 -  August 7, 2022

The fourth annual exhibition of work created by adults and children in the Appleton art classes, camps and workshops. (more…)

Young in Art

March 22 -  April 24, 2022

An annual exhibition featuring artwork from Marion County K-12 students. (more…)

Arts4All Florida : Giddy Up! A Celebration of Equestrian Art

February 22 -  March 6, 2022

Featuring artwork from Hillcrest School students, created during ARTS4ALL Florida's "My Art My Way" artist-in-residence program. (more…)

License Plate Tag Art

January 18 -  February 13, 2022

An annual exhibition of license plate tag art submitted by Marion County fifth-grade students for the “Marion County Tax Collector Kids Tag Art” program. (more…)

A Strange and Picturesque Country : Etchings by Earl H. Reed

December 10, 2021 -  July 31, 2022

Prints from the permanent collection by Earl Howell Reed. (more…)

Garden Party : Botanical Paintings by Susan Martin

November 20, 2021 -  April 24, 2022

Florida artist Susan Martin's photorealistic canvasses explore the botanical world by concentrating on small portions of plant life. (more…)

A Dickens Christmas : The Urban Family Holiday Exhibition

November 16, 2021 -  January 9, 2022

Revel in the holiday spirit with “A Dickens Christmas: The Urban Family Holiday Exhibition.” This annual, beloved display adorns the first floor of the museum with themed trees from the collection of Ocala cardiologist Dr. Paul Urban, his wife, Joyce, and daughters, Katie, Kristie, Kassie and Karlie. (more…)

Alphonse Mucha : Master of Art Nouveau

November 6, 2021 -  January 9, 2022

From 1895 to 1910 Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) was one of the most significant artists in all of Europe and considered by many as the creator of the Art Nouveau style. (more…)

Exhibition and museum tour organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California.

Heart of the Horse : Photographs by Juliet van Otteren

October 9, 2021 -  April 24, 2022

Forty black and white photographs of horses that reflect the beauty and complexity of these exquisite animals. (more…)

A Breeze Through Fertile Gardens : Paintings and Drawings by Andrew M. Grant

July 10 -  November 7, 2021

Andrew Grant’s paintings are inspired by the four elements; earth, air, fire and water. His current work explores how women interact with these elements, using the idea and symbolism of a garden to tie the concepts together. His representational works integrate surrealism, myth and legend to depict women in meditative states that invite the viewer into the narrative. (more…)

Mobile Photography Exhibition : Seventh Annual Showcase

July 13 -  October 3, 2021

The "Mobile Photography Contest & Exhibition" is back for its seventh year. This exhibition features all 630 entries submitted in the four contest categories: Adventure, Black and White, Horse and Hounds, and My Hero. Click here to see the winning photos.

Alison Saar : Works from the Permanent Collection

March 30 -  December 5, 2021

This exhibition of printed works from the permanent collection by internationally acclaimed artist Alison Saar incorporate both spiritual and political themes. Not one to shy away from difficult subjects, Saar commonly explores topics such as race, historical biases and gender, challenging viewers in exciting ways, describing her work as "refined savagery." (more…)

Highlights from the Equine Collection

March 30 -  July 11, 2021

Museum founder Arthur I. Appleton’s love of horses is evident in the Appleton equine collection which is comprised of over sixty artworks. Highlights from the collection with works by artists such as  Wilhelm Alexander Meyerheim and John Nost Sartorius are now on view on the first floor of the museum in honor of our “Horse Capital of the World.”

Luminous Worlds : Paintings by Kristin Herzog

January 9 -  June 27, 2021

Kristin Herzog’s large abstract canvases allow the viewer to enter into distant worlds of the artist’s making. Luminous and beguiling, the works occasionally evoke the interstellar, at other times the terrestrial world. (more…)

Countenance : Reimagining Portraiture

October 15, 2020 -  September 19, 2021

A selection of works from the permanent collection that spans centuries of portraiture. (more…)

Memories & Inspiration : The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art

January 30 -  April 4, 2021

Beginning January 30, the Appleton will present “Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art,” a pioneering selection of 62 works amassed over 35 years by an extraordinary couple. Often choosing artworks over material items and other creature comforts, Kerry, a retired mailman, and Betty, a former television news producer, have opted instead to live with drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture as their principal luxuries. (more…)

"Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art" was organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

New to the Appleton Collection : Paintings and Prints by James Twitty

December 15, 2020 -  March 28, 2021

A selection of  paintings and prints by American artist James Twitty, recently donated to the Appleton by the James Twitty, Jr. Family

Elements of Art

January 11 -  February 7, 2021

An exhibition of artwork from Marion County Independent School students.

License Plate Tag Art

January 19 -  February 15, 2021

An annual exhibition of license plate tag art submitted by Marion County fifth-grade students for the “Marion County Tax Collector Kids Tag Art” program. This program inspires fifth grade art students to design their own specialty plate while learning about the practical application of license plate art and how Florida’s 100+ specialty license plates support worthy causes.

Superintendent’s Art Show

March 22 -  April 25, 2021

An annual exhibition featuring one work of art that best represents the art program from each Marion County Public School. (more…)

Young in Art : Work by Marion County K-12 Students

March 22 -  April 25, 2021

An annual exhibition featuring work by Marion County Public School K-12 students. Hosted annually by the Appleton since the early ‘90s, the show highlights the artistic achievement of Marion County students at every grade level and highlights the importance of arts education. (more…)

The Spaces Between : Mixed Media by Christian Duran

October 15, 2020 -  January 3, 2021

Mixed media artist Christian Duran creates “theatrical landscapes” that, while giving a nod to historic botanical illustrations, break out of the confines of representational rendering to create a way of looking at nature in abstract. Rather than mapping out his compositions, Duran utilizes intuition and spontaneity to explore the beauty and mystery of the natural world in his compositions. (more…)

Mid-Century Tourism on the Silver River : Photographs by Bruce Mozert

October 15, 2020 -  January 3, 2021

Bruce Mozert (1916-2015) holds a rich and unique place in Florida’s history. He spent 30 years as the official photographer for Silver Springs, Florida’s first tourist attraction – and for Paradise Park, the counterpart to Silver Springs located less than a mile down the Silver River that was a beautiful haven for African-American tourists. Using the crystal-clear waters of the Silver River, Mozert’s iconic underwater photography and exclusive access to both parks created some of the most widely recognizable tourism photography of the mid-20th century. (more…)

Visions of Florida : Perspectives on the Sunshine State

October 15, 2020 -  March 2, 2022

A mixed-media exhibition that includes work by artists that live and work in the 27th state. (more…)

The Art of Adventure : Serigraphs by Clayton Pond

October 15, 2020 -  March 28, 2021

In the 1970s artist Clayton Pond drove across America and noticed the rise in specialized leisure-time activities and how each sport has its own culture, vocabulary and even dress code that defines not only the sport, but those who participate in it. (more…)

America’s Everglades : Through the Lens of Clyde Butcher

February 2 -  May 17, 2019

These monumental photographs celebrate the beauty of the American Everglades. Their scale, extraordinary clarity and tonal range set them apart as exceptional works of art, earning him recognition as the foremost landscape photographer in America today. These powerful black and white images are portraits of the eternal bond between man and nature that is the soul of the Everglades. From the deepest cypress strands of the sawgrass prairies, coastal waters and languid estuaries, to pinpoint still-lifes of rare species, Butcher reveals its ecosystems in magnificent detail. He makes an unquestionable case for why we should care about its future.

Mobile Photography Exhibition

July 2 -  September 29, 2019

Photos collected during the 2019 Mobile Photography contest, covering three categories: Landscapes, In the Museum, and My Kid Took That, with a special display for the top photo in each category.

Urban Chatter : Sharon Kerry-Harlan

June 8 -  October 20, 2019

Using thread and sun-baked cloth, “the density of contemporary city living,” provides the inspiration for Kerry-Harlan’s "Urban Chatter" series. The figures and faces seem to meld abstraction, African sculptures and ritual masks among mid-century urban music references from the Harlem jazz scene.

Born in Miami, the artist splits her time between Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and Hollywood, Florida. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University and studied art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Do Not Bleach : Stephanie Brown

June 8 -  October 20, 2019

Through a series of mixed-media installations, "Do Not Bleach" expresses and encourages melanin positivity, whether one is dark-skinned, light-skinned, or somewhere in between. The show will also feature a selfie interactive where visitors are encouraged to try on one of her signature “Do Not Bleach” T-shirts and take a photo. Shirts will be available for purchase in the Appleton Store and are part of Brown’s public art campaign that allows people to advocate for their melanin.

Brown is a Jamaican descendant born and raised in South Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Savannah College of Art, as well as a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and a Museum Studies certificate from the University of Michigan.

Appleton Studio Art Showcase

May 11 -  August 9, 2020

The Appleton is pleased to present the third annual Appleton Studio Art Showcase, highlighting artwork created by adults and children from June 2019–May 2020 in the Appleton art classes, camps, and workshops. If you have — or will have — artwork created at the Appleton during this timeframe, you are eligible to submit your work. All ages are invited to participate! Here's how:

• Select 1–5 pieces of artwork created from June 2019-May 2020 in an Appleton art class, camp or workshop.
• Mat or mount all 2D artwork (matting can be construction paper, but not plain paper but NO FRAMES).
• Label each artwork ON THE FRONT with the artist’s name, age (if under 18), medium used, class/workshop name and teacher’s name.
• Provide a master list of all the artwork being submitted.
• Drop off artwork and master list from April 20-May 1, 2020 via the Security Entrance at the rear of the museum.

Young in Art

March 6 -  April 26, 2020

Featuring artwork from Marion County K-12 students.

Arts4All Florida

February 17 -  March 9, 2020

Featuring artwork from Marion County K-12 ARTS4ALL Florida students. ARTS4ALL Florida provides support and champions art education and cultural experiences for and by people with disabilities. Their vision is to create a world in which the arts are universally accessible. Learn more about ARTS4ALL Florida.

License Tag Art

January 20 -  February 16, 2020

Featuring license tag art from Marion County fifth-grade students. This annual exhibition is sponsored by Marion County Tax Collector. This program inspires fifth-grade art students to design their own specialty plate while learning about the practical application of license plate art and how Florida’s 100+ specialty license plates support worthy causes. Each school earns a share of over $16,000 provided by generous sponsors and 100 percent of the sale proceeds. Learn more about the "License Tag Art" Exhibition.

Elements of Art

January 13 -  February 9, 2020

Featuring work from independent school K-12 students.

At Home in the World : Photographs by Billy Joe Hoyle

January 25 -  June 21, 2020

Photographer Billy Joe Hoyle has spent the last two decades traveling the world and documenting diverse customs, beliefs and lifestyles. Every country has its own identity. “At Home in the World” is a collection of environmental portraits that explores these differences. In his typical street photographer style, Hoyle’s photographs are unexpected encounters that give an accurate and authentic look into the lives of his subjects.

Flamenco : From Spain to the U.S.

January 25 -  May 24, 2020

This festive and multi-dimensional exhibition explores the origins, influences, development, and appreciation of Flamenco as a highly respected art form on the world stage. Shaped over centuries by a multitude of cultural and regional influences including Roman, Sephardic, Arabic, and Andalusian, Flamenco became a folkloric art form that began among the Gypsy people of Spain. Featuring approximately 140 objects dating from the late 19th century to the present, this exhibition focuses on the folkloric roots of Flamenco, tracing its history as it was transformed into performance art.  

This exhibition has been organized by the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico and is circulating through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions.

Florida Impressions : Relief Prints by Leslie Peebles

July 21, 2019 -  January 12, 2020

Leslie Peebles is an ardent environmentalist and naturalist who connects her audience to the flora and fauna of Florida. Our state’s vanishing wilderness, from the Everglades to Okefenokee Swamp, has become a big source of inspiration for Leslie’s work. Her primary medium is printmaking; wood-cut and lino-cut relief print, letterpress and collagraph.

A Dickens Christmas : The Urban Family Holiday Exhibition

November 9, 2019 -  January 5, 2020

The Appleton and the Urban Family invite you to celebrate A Dickens Christmas. Along with the popular Dickens Village, nutcrackers and caroler collection, see several of the Urban's beloved, themed trees throughout the museum. Trees decorated by community members and businesses will also be on display in the second-floor galleries.

Across the Atlantic : American Impressionism Through the French Lens

November 2, 2019 -  January 5, 2020

Drawn mostly from the collection of the Reading Public Museum, this exhibition explores the path to Impressionism through the 19th century in France. The show examines the sometimes complex relationship between French Impressionism of the 1870s and 80s and the American interpretation of the style in the decades that followed. More than 65 paintings and works on paper help tell the story of the “new style” of painting which developed at the end of the 19th century—one that emphasized light and atmospheric conditions, rapid or loose brushstrokes, and a focus on brightly colored scenes from everyday life, including both urban and rural settings. Learn more about the "Across the Atlantic" Exhibition.

The exhibition, events and programming are sponsored in part by Marion Cultural Alliance, Fine Arts for Ocala, Art Bridges and CAMPUS USA Credit Union. Across the Atlantic: American Impressionism Through the French Lens is organized by the Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Urban Chatter : Sharon Kerry Harlan

June 8 -  October 20, 2019

Using thread and sun-baked cloth, “the density of contemporary city living,” provides the inspiration for Kerry-Harlan’s "Urban Chatter" series. The figures and faces seem to meld abstraction, African sculptures and ritual masks among mid-century urban music references from the Harlem jazz scene. Born in Miami, the artist splits her time between Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and Hollywood, Florida. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University and studied art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Familiar Beauty : Drawings by Vicki Jones

February 9 -  July 7, 2019

Vicki M. Jones is a native of Central Florida and has been exhibiting her pencil drawings since 1987. Her realistic and sometimes surreal works vary in subject matter, including lavndscape, portraiture (of people and of trees), still life and architecture. Other media exhibited include pastel and colored pencil drawings. Of her work, Jones says, “In my pencil drawings I like to show, just by focusing intently on a subject, that the very ordinary things (or people) we encounter daily can hold surprising beauty, wonder or mystery.”