Wild Waters: Florida's Rivers, Lakes, Wetlands, and Coast

The Vickers Collection

In 2020, Samuel H. and Roberta T. Vickers gifted their extensive collection of Florida-themed art to the University of Florida's Harn Museum of Art. Throughout their long marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Vickers collected art created in and of Florida, amassing approximately 1,200 works illustrating the state's history, people, and environment. Their collection includes paintings by John Singer Sargent, Thomas Moran, and Winslow Homer. This private collection of Florida has a new home at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida. Given to the museum in late 2020, the oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints—the largest single art collection ever donated to the university. 

Current Exhibit

The Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum at 48 King Street in St. Augustine displays an exhibition of selected works from that collection, titled Wild Waters: Rivers, Lakes, Wetlands, Coast, and the Florida Wildlife Corridor, from Friday, September 12, 2025, through Thursday, April 30, 2026.

The paintings on exhibit all depict an aspect of Florida's environment and the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Painted by more than 30 artists between 1871 and 1965, the paintings show various locations across Florida. The paintings each fall into one of four themes: rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coast, with the coast theme representing the largest selection. View paintings of the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers, Lake Wales, coastal marshes and mangrove swamps, and Florida's coastline. 

The Harn Museum of Art and the UF Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, with guest curator Eleanor Laughlin, organized the exhibit. Laughlin is the Art and Museum Exhibition Coordinator at the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning. 

Admission: Free

When: The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The exhibit will be shown through April 2026.

Where: The Governor's House and Cultural Center, 48 King Street, St. Augustine, Florida