Featured Artist: Tony Abeyta

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The Tom and Mary James/Raymond James
Financial Art Collection

The Tom and Mary James/Raymond James Financial Art Collection, one of Florida's largest private art collections, consists of over 1,800 works of art. It includes original paintings, sculptures, and graphics. More than 90% of the collection is owned by Tom James, Executive Chairman of Raymond James Financial, and his wife, Mary James. Mr. James has selected almost every piece of artwork himself. While some of the artists in the collection are now deceased, he believes buying works from living artists helps to sustain them in their profession. The collection is on display at the firm's corporate headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Although the collection began in the late 1950s with predominately American artists, primarily from Florida, it has grown to include a variety of genres. In the mid 1980s, while on trips to Colorado and New Mexico, Mr. James began to collect Western and Southwestern art. At the present time, more than half of the collection consists of Western/Southwestern styles of art, including works by Roy Andersen, Earl Biss, Glenna Goodacre, Allan Houser, Dave McGary, Dan Namingha and Ray Swanson. Wildlife art makes up about 25% of the collection, including works by Matthew Hillier, John Seerey-Lester, Al Agnew, and Trevor Swanson. Other genres include Pop, Contemporary, Figurative, Sports Art, and Landscapes.

The James family, as well as Raymond James Financial, has long been a supporter of the arts. Raymond James Financial will be the title sponsor for the renowned Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of Arts. In addition, Mr. James is currently president of the Salvador Dali Museum Board of Trustees.