Joseph Steinmetz, born in PA in 1905, became a well-known photographer of Philadelphia's elite and high society events. Later, when he bought a home in Sarasota, he created a vast portfolio of Florida scenes.
"[Sarasota] was so radically different from Philadelphia," Steinmetz told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 1982, "the gorgeous sunsets, the palm trees and tropical flowers."
His photography of Florida appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, Time, and Town and Country. He also worked extensively for the Ringling Circus. His photographs show a fresh and innocent Sarasota and Florida: a happy family builds a sandcastle on a sunny beach; a housewife welcomes friends to her Tupperware party; models in swimsuits pose with the flamingos at Sarasota Jungle Gardens; crowds watch and wave as the Ringling Circus train leaves town.
Today, everyone can tour a gallery of this renowned photographer's work, with no admission fee. Steinmetz's grandson, Brett Arquette, recently gave his grandfather's collection of nearly 5,000 photos to the State Library and Archives of Florida. Nearly half of those photos, about 2,500, are now available online at www.FloridaMemory.com. It's a photo gallery that you could take days to fully explore. The collection covers more than four decades of Steinmetz's work in Florida, from the 1940s through the 1980s.
You, too, can be a part of Sarasota's rich history and heritage. It's a favored destination for vacation homes and retirement real estate, and it's a popular spot for real estate investors, too. If you're interested in buying a home in Sarasota, call us at True Sarasota Real Estate (941) 918-1956. As Exclusive Buyer Agents, we have helped home buyers and real estate investors all over the world discover and purchase the very best real estate in Sarasota, Florida.
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