The Unknown Florida

One of the best known artists in Tallahassee is Mary L. Proctor. She is a native Floridian, born in 1960, and started to paint on an old door lying in her yard after, she claims, God told her “the door is the way”. After that she became a successful folk artist, well known beyond Tallahassee and Leon County. Many museums in the US have her artwork on permanent display and in their collections. One example is the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Because we are members of the museum, we go there often, as it is located in Midtown, a neighborhood with several good restaurants and other attractions.

The last time we were there, we saw a group of schoolchildren in front of the Mary Proctor door-collage “First African American President and Family in the White House”, during which the teacher explained the significance of that moment in American history. As I took a photo (see below) we told the children that we are from Tallahassee and that we know the artist. Since I had a photo of Mary Proctor in her studio on my phone, that I showed around (also below), they became very interested in the artwork. They couldn’t believe that we actually had several of Mary Proctor’s pieces at home… And we are not rich.