Wish You Were Here

Post-Event Update:

On November 14, 2024, we officially opened the Wish You Were Here grand exhibition at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Over 400 people gathered to celebrate 150 years of tourism in Palm Beach County, and I was honored to share my work as the artist in residence among such incredible company.

For the exhibition, I debuted several new pieces including a dynamic portrait of Jimmy Buffett, a painted Hermès scarf blending luxury and art, and a piece honoring tennis star and Delray Beach’s own Coco Gauff. I also shared my paintings of Serena Williams, Jackie Kennedy at The Colony Hotel, Dustin Johnson, A Swan in Palm Beach, and the cover art for the exhibition - a painting featuring the pillars of tourism in Palm Beach County including equestrian (Lillie Keenan), tennis (Venus Williams), golf (Jack Nicklaus), and our iconic resorts (The Breakers). 

Seeing attendees connect with these stories and moments in the historic courthouse was just incredible.

The exhibition will run through June 28th, 2025, so if you missed Opening Night, there’s still plenty of time to check it out and if you would like to explore the pieces I debuted and showcased during the event, including the portraits of Jimmy Buffett, Coco Gauff, and more, you can click here to view the collection and bring one of these works into your own space.

Shop the Wish You Were Here Collection

Also, as part of the excitement, WPTV featured the event in their Shining a Light segment, which you can watch below. It captured the energy of Opening Night and highlighting the incredible stories behind the art. The video showcases the pieces I debuted and offers a glimpse into how the exhibition celebrates 150 years of Palm Beach County tourism. 

Earlier this week, I endured a full day of travel on planes, trains, and automobiles to The Hamptons in New York to attend a reception at The Wine Stand at Wölffer Estate. Why go through so much trouble for sparkling rosé? Well, the event celebrated the launch of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s upcoming Grand Exhibition, "Wish You Were Here: Tourism in the Palm Beaches," and I was announced as its official Artist in Residence!

The exhibition explores the development of the tourism industry in Palm Beach County over the past 150 years, and it will be open to the public from November 15, 2024 until June 28, 2025. It will “transport you with celebrities, artifacts, and stories about experiences that residents enjoy year-round” and I am thrilled to create original artwork to complement that mission.

The older I get the more I appreciate history, and as I enter my fourth “season” in Palm Beach, I am thrilled to learn more about the place that has become my home base. I thoroughly enjoy the research phase required for a new painting, and I have spent the last few weeks with my nose in the Historical Society’s archives. There is no shortage of inspiring maps, postcards, photographs and video that I will use to craft an original composition that helps tell the story of tourism in Palm Beach County. I can’t wait to share that painting with you in a few months!

Save the date for November 14, 2024 for the Grand Opening reception at the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in West Palm Beach. Tickets go on sale soon and I will be sure to provide an update at that time. You won’t want to miss it!

Click here to learn more about the exhibition and its generous supporters. 

All the best,
Kyle