Elizabeth A. Arthur (Beth)
Born: 1926, Pittsburgh PA
BA, Fine Arts, University of Pittsburgh
Sarasota Contemporary Artist, Member of the Sarasota Artist Colony
Working Artist from 1950’s to 2010, over six decades
Beth Arthur was invited in 1953 by Hilton Leech, legendary Sarasota painter and instructor to study on a scholarship at the Hilton Leech Studio. Leech introduced Arthur to local Sarasota artists including Syd Solomon, where Arthur collaborated with both Solomon and other creatives refining her skills and techniques as a contemporary artist.
Arthur also worked at the Ringling Barnum-Bailey Circus as a staff artist from 1953-1957 collaborating with more local artists who became lifelong contemporaries. She felt that the experience at the Circus was an “unending source of imagination” that significantly enhanced her artistry.
Arthur had her first one-woman show in 1962 at the Downtown Community Gallery on Main Street.
In 1968, Arthur studied at the New College Arts Institute with some of the most renowned contemporary artists of the time: Syd Solomon, Philip Guston, James Brooks, Larry Rivers and Conrad Marca-Relii.
Over her career, Arthur held more than 30 one-woman shows. Those locations were the Ringling Museum of Art, the Sarasota Art Association, the Longboat Key Art Association, the Venice Art Association, Buyways Gallery, Foster Harmon Galleries, Arvida Gallery, Joan Hodgell Gallery, Rob & Stuckey Gallery, Hang-Up Gallery, the Art & Objects (Palm Beach), The Gallery Camino Real (Boca Raton), the Lowe Art Museum (Miami) and State of the Arts Gallery, which represented her for 10 years to 2010.
Also, Arthur participated in the following group shows at The Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh Carnegie Museum, the North Carolina State Museum, the Birmingham Museum of Art and the El Paso Museum of Art.
Arthur often traveled internationally for inspiration and renewed artistic direction and as a result, was invited to exhibit her work at the Palace of Fine Arts in Cortona, Italy, the Galleria Krone in Zurich, Switzerland and the Centre d’Art, Port Au Prince, Haiti.
Arthur taught art and workshops in a wide range of venues including Ringling Museum of Art, the Ringling College of Art & Design and the Sarasota public schools, instructing both teachers and students.
Beth Arthur Public, Corporate & Private Collections
Public Collections
- Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Arts Advocates Collection
- Tampa International Airport
- Orlando Utilities Commission
Corporate Collections
- Hyatt Corporation
- AT & T, Atlanta
- Ryder, Inc., Miami
- Bank of America
- Northern Trust Bank
- First Federal Savings, Fort Myers
Private Collections
- Collection of Alex Coleman, Beverly Hills, CA
- Hillman Collection, St. Thomas Islands
- Gerburg Collection, Montreal
- David Rose Collection, Hollywood, FL
Selected Works through the years, 1950-2010
Arthur was fueled by and unceasing drive to explore and experiment with nontraditional techniques. She was naturally drawn to tropical luminous light, deep shadows and the fluid, flowing essence of water.
Arthur is known for her mastery of mixed media including collage, mosaic, acrylic and oil paint, watercolor, inks, stains and dyes on paper and canvas.
1950-1960s
Arthur produced mosiac, collage, and mixed media paintings.
1970-1980s
Arthur focused primarily on flowing oils, a technique of pouring transparent layers of acrylic and oils on canvas. Often pastel clouds of brilliant shadow and light, they displayed a sense of constant movement.
1990s
During this period Arthur traveled extensively. Her interest in archeology and fascination with antiquity are reflected in her work. Particularly inspired by the beauty of Southwestern art, rock formations and petroglyphs, she produced a series of collages, watercolors and color stain paintings.
2000s
Arthur continued to experiment with her artistry through watercolors using color stain painting. This method applies highly thinned paint creating luminous, transparent, water color-like affects. Arthur discovered by pouring, brushing and spraying the paint it enhanced the brilliance and flow of her work.
