The first time I saw “Mama” she was climbing out of a jitney in front of the Nassau Beach Hotel where she worked. She had kind eyes and a warm smile so I said, “Good morning.” She replied, “Good morning, my darling.” That was the beginning of our friendship.

Fred was fourteen when, legally a man, he joined his father in the crawfishing business as first mate on the “Stamba” followed shortly after on the “Mary Ann Kate”. The MAK was his home at sea for many years.

There are those who call the rose the Queen of Flowers; others choose the orchid; but to my mind the tropical hibiscus ranks alongside these beautiful blooms. Over the years I have painted a large number of hibiscus.

Hope Town was founded in 1785 by Wyannie Malone and her four children from Charleston, South Carolina. The town has slowly grown over the years and today is a popular tourist destination.

How did I know? Well, I know because I ate the tangerine and most of the grapes. It was a race against time. I remember it well. In fact, although I normally work from back to front in a still life painting, for this one I finished painting the tangerine first and then the grapes. Why? Because the tangerine looked so delicious I had to eat it before it spoiled! As for the grapes, they made a very pleasant (and refreshing) repast the next day. Sometimes there is more to a painting than the viewer may realize.

For over one hundred years the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band has been at the center of official government celebrations, as well as on informal occasions throughout The Bahamas. This is one of a number of paintings I did of the band over the years.

My cousin Colin Lowe wrote the following piece many years ago. He also wrote some labels covering artifacts in the museum. Colin wrote for The Nassau Tribune after graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in journalism.

Who could ask for more? Looking at this painting with the little houses lining the creek shore, birds quietly flying from dock to post and out over the water. A light breeze blowing and a sky radiant blue. It is a dream of summer that lives in my memory and, thankfully, is renewed each year on Green Turtle Cay and many of the Bahamian islands.

For a young boy of 5, it was an extraordinary adventure. Many years ago in summer, Daddy asked me if I wanted to go to the beach with him and my uncle, Carl, to collect turtle eggs. Of course, I said, yes. That night after dark, we set off from the village in daddy’s boat with him sculling (there being no motor on the dinghy).

I have always loved this painting. It hung for many years in my dining room on Green Turtle Cay until it was lost in Hurricane Dorian. In the painting, 4 children are shown digging cockleshells from the sands at Gillam Bay.

As I look at a reproduction of this beautiful painting, so many memories flood into my mind. It seems only a short time ago that the Government of The Bahamas sent me to San Salvador to create a series of paintings for the 500th anniversary of Columbus landing in the New World. The result, was a wonderful series of stamps depicting the arrival and landing, as well as images of Lucayan society at the time.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦.

Tucked away in the center of Nassau is Queen Street, a mix of thirteen properties, including the American Embassy. In the early years of my career, I was fortunate enough to rent a small apartment on the street during my annual show.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝟣𝟫𝟩𝟧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝟣𝟨𝟦𝟪, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝟣𝟩𝟪𝟥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.

A collection of objects, known as a still life, often arouses a curiosity from the onlooker. Why did the painter choose these particular objects? How do they relate to each other? What, if any, is their meaning? Are they simply interesting objects which have caught the painter’s eye?

In this painting, which I called “Gifts From the Sea”, the conch shell holds center stage. Years ago conch was so plentiful that it easily provided a full meal in the many ways it could be prepared. As any Bahamian knows, conch fritters are a favorite as well as conch salad, conch chowder, cracked conch and scorched conch.

To one side of the shell is a double candlestick supported by a sea creature. On the other side is a seagull and in the foreground are cockle shells. I balanced these gifts from the sea with a lovely sea blue double vase, a gift from friends in Gatlinburg when I left our summer gallery for art study in New York City.

Each of these objects have meaning for me. Sadly, they have all been lost in a recent hurricane. Still, their beauty remains captured in this painting. - Alton

Nassau in June has always seemed to me to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The city is blessed with hundreds of Royal Poinciana trees, all in full bloom during the month. The first time I saw this spectacular sight I was very young while on a visit to see my sister, Iva. She drove me around the island and we saw tree after tree in colours ranging from deep red through orange and even yellow. I learned later that there is even a very rare white version which, to my knowledge, we do not have in New Providence.

I have tried to paint as many of the old houses as possible with the idea that time and hurricanes will see most of them disappear. Hopefully, The Deanery, which is the subject of this painting from 1979, will be an exception.

Sometimes the simplest activities in life give us the most satisfaction. One of those activities was feeding the gulls in front of our family home on lazy afternoons. I can fondly remember my father and his sister tearing up old pieces of bread and throwing them to the Laughing Gulls, which were so numerous in the summer on Green Turtle Cay. This painting shows them surrounded by the gulls eagerly awaiting their treat.