MIAMI BEACH – (December 11, 2007) – Lawrence Murray Dixon: Art Deco Master showcases a group of beautiful and rare architectural renderings and vintage sepia-toned photographs from the Lawrence Murray Dixon archives, among the significant architectural holdings of the Bass Museum of Art.

During the 1930s, architect Lawrence Murray Dixon (1901–1949) was a crucial figure in the development of the “Tropical Art Deco” style on Miami Beach. Working for clients who hoped to appeal to a public from New York, he reinterpreted urban Art Deco to suit a southern, seaside resort. Within only a few years, he designed the buildings and interior decor of 42 hotels in what is now known as the Historic Art Deco District (that includes the Raleigh, Ritz Plaza, Victor, Tides, Marlin, Tiffany and Betsy Ross), as well as two signature hotels—the Atlantis and the Senator—that were destroyed before the Historic District was established. The drawings and marvelous duotone photographs in this exhibition show these landmark buildings in their original, pristine state.

Dixon was a native Floridian whose career started in New York where he worked for Schultze and Weaver, the firm famous for designing the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Like most of the architects practicing in the boomtown that was post-Depression Miami Beach, Dixon was outside the American architectural establishment—he did not receive a complete architectural education, nor did he complete anything like a grand tour. He was nevertheless the most prolific architect practicing in Miami Beach in the late 1930s and early 1940s, building all types of commercial and residential buildings from the smallest house to the most lavish oceanfront hotels. Perhaps most importantly, Dixon was one of the first architects to build large-scale hotels in the Art Deco style in Miami Beach, bringing in the jazz-age style of machine-age optimism and prosperity.

Dixon and his colleagues used Art Deco to meet the local need for lower cost resort architecture, while adapting the style to incorporate local motifs and historical styles. The result is the unique architecture of South Beach that we know today, and the country’s first twentieth-century architectural district to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

General Admission
$8 general admission, $6 seniors/students. Free, members & children under 6. Group discounts available.

Museum Hours and Docent Tours
Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm, Sunday 11 am-5 pm, closed Mondays and holidays. Docent tours by appointment. Call 305.673,7530 x1005 to make reservations. Docent tours free with museum admission.

Bass Museum Shop
An eclectic selection of art, architecture and photography books; folk art from around the world; one-of-a-kind decorative and gift items; jewelry by local and international artisans; postcards; and educational toys.

Parking
Metered parking lot on site. Additional metered parking is available on perimeter streets.

The Bass Museum of Art receives both public and private general operating funding. Major support comes from the City of Miami Beach, with the support of the Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Miami Beach and Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. Support also provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program and Cultural Arts Council.