Sunday, November 15, 2026
Dr. Carolyn Rosenfeld at the helm of the Silver Spray during her portrayal of artist Wells Sawyer. Rosenfeld delivered passages she memorized from Marion Spjut Gilliland’s books, “Key Marco’s Buried Treasure” and “The Material Culture of Key Marco Florida.”
A museum visitor enjoys a collection of Wells Sawyer’s watercolors at the Marco Island Historical Museum.
Wells Sawyer painted many of his watercolors while on the island in 1896.
Dr. Carolyn Rosenfeld’s portrayal of Wells Sawyer was so authentic that you could imagine yourself aboard the Silver Spray as it sailed to Marco Island in 1896.
Heather Otis, Collections Manager, and Austin Bell, Curator of Collections, worked together on Art of the Dig. “We’ve been working on this exhibit for more than a year,” Bell said.
One of the six original watercolors from the 1896 expedition to Marco Island by artist Wells Sawyer. The originals are on loan from the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
One may find it ironic that an island that just celebrated 25 years of cityhood in August is now celebrating art that was created on its shores 126 years ago. But that was the case at the Marco Island Historical Society's formal opening of Art of the Dig: Wells Sawyer’s Watercolors. Opening night, Wednesday, October 26th, featured an engrossing portrayal of Sawyer by Dr. Carolyn Rosenfeld on the museum's Rose Auditorium stage.
The impressive exhibits features six original Wells Sawyer watercolors that were created by the artist during the famous Pepper-Hearst Expedition, led by renowned anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing. Many islanders know Cushing’s name from seeing it on a regular basis as Cushing Lane leads to Tommie Barfield Elementary School.
“Austin Bell brings Wells Sawyer’s story to life,” said Pat Rutledge, CEO of the Marco Island Historical Society. “It was a real team effort.”
“We’ve been working on this exhibit for over a year,” said Bell, MIHS Curator of Collections. “A lot of times when we try to visualize the Key Marco site we think about the work of one man, Wells Moses Sawyer. He made watercolors of all the artifacts that were recovered at the Key Marco site. That turned out to be a very important thing because many of the artifacts disintegrated immediately after they were pulled out of the muck. Even more have disintegrated over the years in collections stored in museums. Wells Sawyer’s photographs and watercolors are all we have left of many of the pieces that were found.”
Bell said that while Sawyer went on to enjoy great success as an artist following the Marco Island expedition, it’s his work here that brought him his most fame.
“He's probably still most well known for his work here on Marco Island in 1896 as a young 32-year-old artist,” Bell said.
Bell hints that he is planning a book on Sawyer.
“It’s still in the very early stages,” Bell said with a smile.
Rutledge could not have been happier with the opening of the exhibition, especially considering that it comes on the heels of Hurricane Ian’s landfall on Sept 28.
“It was a fantastic turnout,” Rutledge said at the end of the evening. “People have been through some tough weeks. That they came out tonight to celebrate the opening of this exhibit means so much. We really appreciate the community."
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