Art in Public Places - Port Orange Regional Library - Elsie Shaw

Buck and Babs, 1996 - Cast metal sculpture

Elsie Shaw
New Smyrna Beach
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Elsie Shaw received her bachelor’s degree from Rollins College in Winter Park and has been a professional artist for more than 50 years. Shaw was born in Charlotte, N.C., and moved to central Florida in the 1960s. Starting as a painter, Shaw began sculpting in the 1950s and, much to her surprise, sculptures became her bread and butter beginning in 1973 when she was commissioned to create a large-scale piece for the Orlando Citrus Club. This began a string of public art commissions.

She was honored with a one-person retrospective exhibition of her work by the Museum of Florida Art in 1999. Her resume boasts an impressive list of awards and recognitions, and her signature paintings and sculptures can be found in many important collections across the Southeast.

Although she describes her work as naïve or primitive, Shaw’s formal style is individual and distinct. A thread of humor runs through much of her work. This whimsical sculpture installed in the Port Orange Regional Library’s fountain represents the delight children can find in reading.