Overview

The fifty-two paintings gathered here reveal as never before the wild beauty of Little St. Simons, an undeveloped barrier island on the Georgia coast. In showing us the island’s marshes and tidal creeks, shrub lands and forests, and dunes and beaches, artist Philip Juras helps us understand the natural and historical forces continually at work on this unique place. The Wild Treasury of Nature continues Juras’s exploration of the presettlement wilderness of the American South as the earliest naturalists would have encountered it. Strikingly composed and executed, Juras’s island paintings are based on extensive research and many hours spent at the sites he documents. From the contours of a pristine landscape down to the shape and colour of its smallest plant, each scene is a historically and ecologically credible rendering of a place that has remained miraculously unspoiled. The writings that accompany Juras’s paintings describe the natural history and unique cultural past of Little St. Simons in particular and the southern barrier islands in general, place the artwork within the American landscape painting tradition, and underscore the importance of vigilant stewardship for the island and the few remaining American places like it.

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9780820348872

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Reviews

I look with astonishment at what Philip Juras has accomplished in these paintings. . . . My hope, like Philip s, is that anyone who is moved by his paintings will gain a fresh, if not brand new, appreciation for the allure of southeastern coastal landscapes. Even more, I hope that they will be inspired to join efforts to preserve and steward those places for ongoing generations.--Wendy Paulson, from the foreword

[Juras] presents us with compelling glimpses of what are called 'remnant' landscapes - landscapes filled with native flora and fauna that existed before humans settled the area. . . . Clearly, [he] has done more than just visit these places as a temporary guest. He has roamed their shadowy nooks and crannies, immersing himself in details of the native grasses and palmettos while taking in the grandeur of the blue skies over the Atlantic.--Melissa Tufts Northeast Georgia Living I look with astonishment at what Philip Juras has accomplished in these paintings. . . . My hope, like Philip's, is that anyone who is moved by his paintings will gain a fresh, if not brand new, appreciation for the allure of southeastern coastal landscapes. Even more, I hope that they will be inspired to join efforts to preserve and steward those places for ongoing generations.--Wendy Paulson, from the foreword A full portrait of the island is collectively created when the images are assembled and viewed together. The Wild Treasury of Nature is presented in an order both artistically and ecologically informed, intentionally working its way from the heart of the maritime live oak forest, through the marshes and out to the shoreline. The landscapes gradually become more open as the terrain evolves from dense, intricately tangled greenery to rolling dunes, calm waters and sun-kissed horizons.--Jessica Smith Flagpole

Author Information

Philip Juras, a native of Augusta, Georgia, USA received a BFA and a master of landscape architecture from the University of Georgia. He lives in Athens, Georgia. Dorinda G. Dallmeyer is a faculty member of the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program at the University of Georgia, USA and is also the associate director of the University of Georgia's Dean Rusk Center International, Comparative, and Graduate Legal Studies. She is the editor of five books, including Values at Sea, a volume of essays on ethvironmental ethics (Georgia).

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