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Western art roundup

In addition to corralling artists inspired by the American West's lore, the show at Raymond James Financial Center includes wildlife art.

ST. PETERSBURG - For all his success in the business world, Tom James, CEO of Raymond James Financial, has something of a maverick heart.

"I had the first rock 'n' roll band at Harvard," he says, formed during his undergraduate years in the early 1960s to earn extra spending money. James played guitar and sang. It was so successful, he says, that he had to turn down gigs, so he found substitute bands and wound up managing them. By the time he entered Harvard Business School, he was managing seven.

Okay, he's a maverick with entrepreneurial smarts.

That explains his love of Western art, something of a maverick genre itself. It's a large aesthetic territory, typically in the realist tradition, but beyond that common denominator, anything goes. Cowboys, Indians, wildlife, landscapes; painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, mixed media. All can be found within the Western art category.

James and his wife, Mary, own one of the largest private collections of Western art in the United States. Because of his interest in the genre, a prestigious show, along with leading practitioners, comes to St. Petersburg every year.

The fifth annual "Wildlife and Western Visions Art Show" Saturday and Sunday at the Raymond James Financial Center features 16 artists, most well-known in their specialty, particularly three who are members of the Cowboy Artists of America Association: John Coleman, Bruce Green and Ray Swanson.

The exhibition and sale are co-sponsored by the Plainsmen Gallery of Clearwater, which specializes in Western art, but James played the major role in selecting the exhibiting artists.

"Plainsmen approached me 10 years ago," James said. "A Native American artist was coming to the area for a show, and they needed some money to help make it happen. We made a contribution and invited our clients to see the show, which led to the concept of having a group of these artists come every year with their work. I know a lot of the artists. To get them to come as a group like this is very rare."

The show was moved to Raymond James headquarters for space reasons years ago. While there, visitors may tour the James art collection on several of the building's floors.

James himself does not benefit financially from the sale; he donates the space and pays for staffing. And he gets no deals on the art work.

"I feel obligated to purchase work at this show, especially if an artist isn't selling well. You want it to be economically viable for them to come."

James has collected art since his college days, when he combed galleries in Boston and Cambridge for the landscapes and maritime scenes he favored.

About 15 years ago, he recalled, he and his wife were in Aspen.

"There was a blizzard," he says, "and I had skied for eight days, so I told Mary I was going to a gallery. I had always admired Western art. I spent the whole day wandering through galleries looking at it. I met several artists."

His collection of Western art now numbers more than 1,000 works, mostly two-dimensional, but with a growing number of sculptures, which he began collecting about eight years ago.

"They're all living artists," he says. "I like to help them in their quest to become full-time artists and not just as an avocation. They're often not investment-grade artists, but that's not a requirement."

But most of James' collection is the best from the best. And though the high prices on work by well-known Western artists such as Coleman, whose bronze sculptures can cost well into five figures, don't faze James, he wants the show to have appeal for those with less disposable income.

"The prices range all over," he said, from high-end paintings and sculpture to affordable limited-edition prints.

The show's scope has expanded to include wildlife artists from places such as Africa and Canada.

James, who has given millions to the arts corporately and privately, says the show is one more opportunity "to get culture into our community. I happen to choose what I like, but I really don't care what kind of art people support."

The fifth annual "Wildlife and Western Visions Art Show" is at the Raymond James Financial Center, 880 Carillon Parkway, Tower Four, St. Petersburg; 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Original paintings, bronze sculptures, miniatures and limited-edition prints will be available. Participating artists, who will be on hand, are Al Agnew, John Coleman, Robert Deurloo, Larry Fanning, Bruce Greene, Grant Hacking, Matthew Hillier, Daniel Parker, Adrian Rigby, Julia Rogers, John Seerey-Lester, Suzie Seerey-Lester, Ernest Simmons, Ray Swanson, Trevor Swanson and Paul Van Ginkel. Tours of the Tom and Mary James Collection will be available both days. There will be a free drawing to win a print by John Seerey-Lester. Admission and parking are free. (727) 726-5100 or toll-free 1-888-779-2240.