“Doris Leeper: Legacy of a Visionary” Reading and Book Signing

The Cornell Fine Arts Museum
1000 Holt Avenue-2765
Winter Park, FL 32789

Doris Leeper was a visionary artist and environmentalist. She was instrumental in the creation of the Canaveral National Seashore, established the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna, and was a celebrated sculptor and painter. Doris Leeper died in 2000, one year after being inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

The new book, Doris Leeper: Legacy of a Visionary, includes remembrances from people who knew “Doc,” worked with her to help realize her goals, and were inspired by her passion. Together, these essays, articles, and anecdotes paint a fascinating portrait of Doris Leeper, and describe her outstanding contributions to Florida, and the world.

Patricia Appleton was inspired to capture the history and stories behind Doris Leeper – a woman she never met, yet respected deeply – upon joining the Atlantic Center for the Arts Board of Trustees in 2012. The result is five years of perseverance, along with co-authors Dr. James Murphy and Clay Henderson, and the publication by the Florida Historical Society of Doris Leeper: Legacy of a Visionary.

This publication examines the accomplishments of Doris Leeper and assesses her contributions to Florida’s cultural life and to the preservation of its natural environment.  It contains a chronology of Leeper’s artistic career with photos of her work and a full exhibit list; a narrative history of her environmental work, including accounts of the political battles she waged to achieve the national park designation for Canaveral Seashores and to establish Atlantic Center for the Arts, an internationally-recognized artist residency; and interviews with friends and colleagues who worked with Leeper—and sometimes against her—to achieve these goals. Additional materials include personal letters from Doc and critical essays written about her work.

ABOUT ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Atlantic Center for the Arts is a nonprofit interdisciplinary artist-in-residence community and arts education facility dedicated to promoting artistic excellence by providing talented artists an opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world’s most distinguished contemporary artists in the fields of music composition and the visual, literary and performing arts. Community interaction is coordinated
through on-site outreach presentations, workshops, and exhibitions. 

ABOUT THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Established in 1856, the Florida Historical Society is dedicated to preserving Florida’s past through the collection and archival maintenance of historical documents and photographs, the publication of scholarly research on Florida history, and educating the public about Florida history through a variety of public history projects. We maintain an extensive archive at the Library of Florida History, publish books through the Florida Historical Society Press, manage the Historic Rossetter House Museum and Gardens,
and operate the Florida Historical Society Archaeological Institute (FHSAI) at the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science. We produce Florida Frontiers: The Weekly Radio Magazine of the Florida Historical Society and the public television series Florida Frontiers. We publish the academic journal Florida Historical Quarterly. We maintain a content rich web site at www.myfloridahistory.org, and a dynamic Facebook page with more than 13,000 daily followers at “Florida Historical Society.” The Annual Meeting & Symposium is in a different location in May each year featuring paper presentations, round table discussions, tours of historic sites, awards and more. Our other educational outreach projects and programs include active participation in events and festivals throughout the state, frequent public talks on a variety of subjects, workshops for teachers and students, history-based theatrical presentations, exhibits, and much more.

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