Exhibits
The Styx: Palm Beach’s Historically Black Neighborhood
This exhibition showcases Palm Beach’s only historically Black neighborhood, which existed between 1893 and 1912. Through this exhibition, the Foundation hopes to shed light on the buried history of these pioneers and their lives.
All Roads Lead to Palm Beach: A Look at the Provenance of Historic Architectural Elements
On display from November 2024 to March 2025
All Roads Lead to Palm Beach explores how renowned architects like Addison Mizner brought European influence to the area’s grand estates. Mizner’s work, including his use of 300-year-old wood paneling and chandeliers from Spanish castles, set a trend for using imported architectural elements to evoke timeless elegance and imbue the new community with a sense of history. The use of antiques and reproductions was also used generously by architects Marion Sims Wyeth and Maurice Fatio. Antique dealer Ohan Berberyan became a go-to dealer for these architects to bring European artifacts to these new estates. Buoyed by the building boom, Berberyan’s shop and gardens became a destination on Peruvian Avenue just across from Worth Avenue.
Polly Jessup: The Grande Dame of Palm Beach Decorators
On display from November 13, 2017-December 22, 2017.
Polly Jessup (1899 – 1988) was bestowed the title “Grande Dame of Palm Beach Decorators” in a 1987 New York Times editorial. Jessup was a nationally-renowned interior designer whose designs were integral to the gracious lifestyle for which Palm Beach is known. The exhibit tells the mostly unknown story of Jessup’s life and career through images of her interior design work and recollections from clients and colleagues. The Preservation Foundation is delighted to be given the opportunity to pay homage to someone so important to the history of the island and is grateful to the Society of the Four Arts for the use of images from its Polly Jessup Collection.
Marion Sims Wyeth: Architect & Artist
On display from December 1st, 2021 – March 31st, 2022.
Curated in coordination with the release of the publication, From Palm Beach to Shangri La: The Architecture of Marion Sims Wyeth the exhibition explores some of Wyeth’s most iconic works through watercolors, architectural renderings, and photographs.
Palm Beach Moderne
On display from December 2022 – May 2023
Palm Beach Moderne explores the nuances of Art Deco and Art Moderne while examining the island’s existing Moderne residences.