Exhibits

On display from January 2026 to May 2026
The exhibit explores a pivotal moment in American architectural and cultural history when affordability, style, and patriotism converged in the design of the Palm Beach home. Set against the backdrop of the interwar years, the Great Depression, and the optimism of the post–World War II era, the exhibition examines the national movement toward modest, well-designed housing and how those ideals were thoughtfully interpreted in Palm Beach. Central to this movement in Palm Beach are the efforts of the Architects’ Small House Bureau and the Housing Finance Corporation, which promoted economical, high-quality residential design through standardized plans, and the growing popularity of the Monterey Style, a hybrid architectural form that blended traditional Spanish influence with modern American Living.

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.

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.

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.

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.