Key West Art & Historical Society to Host Special Reception Celebrating the Work of Renowned Photographer Clyde Butcher

The Key West Art & Historical Society invites the public to a special reception on July 18, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., celebrating the opening of Visions of Florida: The Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher, a stunning exhibition of black and white landscape photography on view at the Key West Museum of Art & History. (Photo Credit: Clyde Butcher/Museum of Florida History)

July 10, 2025 – (KEY WEST, FL).  The Key West Art & Historical Society invites the public to a special evening reception on Friday, July 18, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Key West Museum of Art & History to celebrate the opening of Visions of Florida: The Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher, a captivating exhibition on temporary loan from the Museum of Florida History that offers an intimate glimpse into the raw beauty of Florida’s vanishing wilderness.

This remarkable collection showcases the work of Clyde Butcher, one of America’s most celebrated landscape photographers, often hailed as the “Ansel Adams of Florida.”  Through his powerful large-format black and white photography, Butcher captures the breathtaking serenity, mystery, and grandeur of Florida’s natural environment—its swamps, wetlands, mangroves, and the untouched corners of the Everglades.

Visions of Florida is more than a photography exhibition; it is an immersive journey into a fragile ecosystem under threat.  Butcher’s lens reveals a side of Florida that few tourists—and even longtime residents—ever experience.  Renowned for his adventurous and painstaking photographic process, Butcher often wades waist-deep into remote marshes, swamp waters, and riverbeds, braving the elements and wildlife to capture the perfect shot.  Armed with a custom-built large-format camera and a fearless spirit, he has endured mosquitoes, heat, and even close encounters with alligators—all in pursuit of a fleeting moment of perfect light and composition.

“Clyde Butcher’s work reminds us of the extraordinary natural heritage we stand to lose,” says Society curator Cori Convertito, Ph.D.  “His images speak not only to the aesthetic power of photography but also to the urgent need for environmental stewardship.”

The exhibition will be on view in the Bumpus Gallery at the Key West Museum of Art & History through October 19, 2025.  This reception is free and open to the public.  All are welcome to attend and experience the striking beauty of Visions of Florida through the eyes of one of the country’s most gifted nature photographers.

For more information, please visit kwahs.org/butcher-opening or contact the Key West Art & Historical Society at (305) 295-6616.