A. E. Backus Gallery & Museum

The A. E. Backus Gallery & Museum is a public visual arts facility located at 500 North Indian River Drive in Fort Pierce, Florida. Established in 1960, the museum holds the largest public collection of paintings by Albert Ernest Backus, a preeminent Florida landscape painter, and is dedicated to presenting and collecting works by Backus and the original Florida Highwaymen. The 8,000 square foot institution serves as a significant cultural anchor for the Indian River area, preserving and promoting a distinctive chapter of American regional art.

The museum originated as the Fort Pierce Art Gallery, founded by A. E. Backus together with a group of local art enthusiasts. The impetus came after Backus's Old Studio was demolished in 1959; Arthur Shapiro, chairman of the Fort Pierce Arts League, told Backus he needed a gallery, to which Backus responded that the community needed one instead. Through community donations of $12,000 and permission from the Fort Pierce City Commission to build on city-owned land, the gallery took shape with Kendall P. Starratt as architect and Ray Lein as contractor. Backus served as its first director, and the Fort Pierce Art Gallery opened to the public on May 15, 1961. The building was loosely modeled after Backus's demolished Old Studio on the north bank of Moore's Creek. In 1975, the gallery underwent remodeling to remove its open breezeway courtyard, which had exposed artworks to damaging climate conditions; a skylight and air conditioning were installed instead. Following Backus's death in 1990, the institution was renamed the A. E. "Bean" Backus Gallery. A further expansion of 2,500 square feet occurred in 2016.

The museum's collection centers on the work of A. E. Backus, housing the nation's largest display of his original paintings. Beyond Backus, the institution collects and presents works by the original Florida Highwaymen, the group of African American landscape painters who sold their works from the roadside along Florida's highways during the mid-twentieth century. The museum also handles consignment sales of Backus paintings and works by other renowned artists. Four additional exhibition wings accommodate rotating exhibitions of contemporary artists, broadening the institution's engagement with present-day visual arts production.

The institution's signature holding is its unparalleled public collection of paintings by A. E. Backus, representing the most extensive assembly of his work accessible to the public. The museum also maintains significant holdings related to the original Florida Highwaymen, the self-taught painters who followed in Backus's tradition of Florida landscape painting. The consignment program for Backus paintings and works by other notable artists further augments the accessible body of work associated with the museum's collections.

The museum occupies an 8,000 square foot facility at 500 North Indian River Drive in Fort Pierce, Florida, constructed on city-owned land. The original 1961 building was designed by architect Kendall P. Starratt with Ray Lein as contractor, modeled after Backus's former Old Studio on the north bank of Moore's Creek. The structure originally featured an open breezeway courtyard that was replaced in 1975 with a skylight and climate control systems to protect the collection. The 2016 renovation added 2,500 square feet to the building, expanding its exhibition capacity while maintaining its role as a public visual arts facility.

The A. E. Backus Gallery & Museum is located in Fort Pierce, Florida, and operates as a public institution. According to its Spanish-language documentation, the museum is open five days a week from October through mid-June, with summer visits available by appointment. The museum maintains an official website at www.backusgallery.com. As a public visual arts facility established through community support and built on city-owned land, it continues to serve its founding mission of presenting and collecting works by Backus and the Florida Highwaymen while offering changing exhibitions by contemporary artists in its expanded gallery spaces.