For Immediate Release
November 12, 2008

Contact: Brannon Solomon
Division of Cultural Affairs
(850) 245.6415
bjsolomon@dos.state.fl.us

Florida Cowboys—Photography by Jimmy Peters on Display in the Cabinet Meeting Room

Tallahassee, FLORIDA –  

Tallahassee, FL -- Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning announces Florida Cowboys, a showing of black and white photography by Florida artist Jimmy Peters. The photographs will be on display from through January 29, 2009, in the Cabinet Meeting Room on the Lower Level of the Florida Capitol.

“Jimmy Peters gives stunning insight to a side of Floridian life that is largely unknown,” says Secretary Browning. “Florida Cowboys is an excellent exhibit that is sure to attract and inform people to this unique part of Florida’s culture.”

“When you mention Florida people think of the beaches, fishing, and Disney World,” says Jimmy Peters. “Most visitors never realize there are cattle ranches within a few minutes’ drive from their hotel on the Gulf of Mexico.” Peters seeks to combine his passion for contemporary fine art photography with his desire to introduce the legacy of the Florida Cowboy to the general public, a legacy that is rapidly disappearing in Florida. He was born in Ohio in 1943 and moved to Sarasota, FL in 1946 to a small ranch in the Bee Ridge area where his family raised cattle and grew oranges. In the mid-sixties he moved back to Ohio where he studied at Kent State University and met his wife Kathy. For 15 years he directed an in-house advertising agency for a Canton, Ohio bank. It was during this time that he developed a passion for photography. He became an avid reader and was influenced by Ansel Adams, Fred Picker, and Edward Weston. He has been the recipient of numerous advertising and photography awards. In 1985, Jimmy, his wife and three children moved back to Florida where he founded P. Taylor, McHone Advertising.

The exhibition is part of the Division of Cultural Affairs’ Capital Complex Exhibition Program. The Cabinet Meeting Room Gallery is located on the Lower Level of the Florida Capitol. Hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For further information, contact Brannon Solomon at the Division of Cultural Affairs at 850.245-6415.