INTRODUCTION
| The Harry Sonntag story is quite an amazing one. It started in 1992 when a vast collection of paintings, photos and old newspaper clippings were uncovered in a storage facility in Central Florida. This is not only the story of an artist's colorful life but a visual documentation of the Florida Keys. In 1960 the collection of Harry Sonntag was discovered underneath a bed in a rooming house in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. A couple from Central Florida made the discovery and contacted the landlord. He showed no interest and told them they could have it. The couple brought it back to Florida and put it in storage where it lay for 32 years. The collection not only shows part of Sonntag's earlier life in New York City but is a vast visual documentation of life in the Florida Keys from the early1950's. Harry Sonntag came to the Keys to escape the exposure of other artists and their ideas. He wanted to be free-- and that meant living a reclusive lifestyle. His depiction of the Florida Keys shows the everyday life of working fishermen in locations that are still recognized today. He also captured the unspoiled landscapes that have been changed by what some call progress. This type of visual documentation had never been heard of till now! Sonntag lived a simple life, living in a small shack down by the water, growing his own vegetables and eating lots of fish. We believe he arrived around 1949 and in 1951 opened the Key Largo Art Gallery. In 2002 Historian of the Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys Jerry Wilkinson discovered a puzzling article from the Homestead News dated 1955. It read Famous art gallery destroyed on Keys Saturday. It basically said that the entire contents of the Key Largo Art Gallery was destroyed in this fire. Sonntag said kept in the building was his life's work. When the collection was discovered it had numerous black and white photos showing the inside of the gallery. These photos show paintings that are in the collection. This means the art that was thought to have burned didn't burn at all!! My theory of what happened is, that Harry Sonntag was leaving the Key Largo Art Gallery, possibly because the property had been sold. He knew the building had no value and thought if it burned and it's contents were destroyed, later down the road the discovery of the so called burned art would be a good mystery! I feel he took the art, torched the building and headed for St. Thomas Virgin Islands. That's where the collection was discovered around 1960. Why he left his art behind and headed toSt. Petersburg Fla. Is not really known If interested in viewing the entire collection feel free to contact me. To read the entire story read History Talks 2003. Also available on media page are numerous magazine articles and news stories written about the Sonntag collection. |
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