Atlantic Center for the Arts
1414 Art Center Avenue
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168
[T] 386.427.6975
[F] 386.427.5669
DORIS LEEPER
Founder, Atlantic Center for the Arts
April 4, 1929 - April 11, 2000
Born on April 4, 1929 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Leeper graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University with a degree in art history in 1951. She worked concurrently in commercial graphic arts and fine arts until 1961 when she left the commercial field to devote full time to sculpture and painting, quickly earning a reputation as an artist of significance. Leeper has had numerous one-person exhibitions and has participated in invitational group exhibitions on national and international levels. She has executed a number of large-scale commissions and her work has been purchased for almost 100 public collections including the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC, the Columbus Museum of Art and Chase Manhattan Bank, NYC. In 1995, a 45-year retrospective exhibition of her work was held at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.
Leeper is listed in over a dozen important publications including Who's Who in American Art and has received honorary doctorate degrees from Duke University and Stetson University. In 1999, Leeper was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, the highest and most prestigious cultural honor that can be bestowed upon an individual in the State of Florida. It is reserved for those who have demonstrated significant contributions to the arts in Florida and have received national and/or international recognition through achievements in an artistic discipline. She received the 1993 Florida Arts Recognition Award, which recognizes outstanding initiative, leadership or excellence in supporting the arts in Florida. In 1990, she received the Humanist Arts Award from the American Humanist Association for outstanding contributions to humanity through the arts. Leeper received individual artist's fellowships from the State of Florida and the National Endowment for the Arts. She also was the recipient of an Artist-in-Residence Fellowship from The Rockefeller Foundation.
A resident of New Smyrna Beach since 1958, Leeper has served as a leader in educating the general public as to the sound management of natural resources and innovative land use planning for over 40 years. Her lifelong interest in the relationship of natural and built environments has created two testimonials to her vision - Canaveral National Seashore and Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Leeper's first home in New Smyrna Beach was in hammockland known as Eldora, in what is now Canaveral National Seashore. The purchase of this home was the beginning of a 17-year effort to preserve the pristine environment from zealous developers. In 1975, Governor Askew nominated Leeper for the Canaveral National Seashore Advisory Committee. In subsequent years, her awareness of her responsibility in protecting this area of wilderness dominated all other concerns. Leeper formed "Friends of the Canaveral National Seashore," a citizen's committee to help guide development of the fragile coastal dune area. Through Leeper's efforts, U.S. Congressman Lou Frey co-sponsored the bill that established the 24-mile stretch of barrier island as Canaveral National Seashore. Through the years her environmental endeavors continued, and in January 1997 she called for formation of "Friends of Spruce Creek," which focuses on acquiring parcels to complete the 2000 acre state-owned preserve.
In what is perhaps her most well known legacy, Leeper conceived the idea of a residency program in which artists from different disciplines could convene and collaborate in an environment that promoted both tranquility and stimulation. Thus began five years of planning and fundraising for Atlantic Center for the Arts, an internationally renowned artists' community situated on 69 acres of tidal estuary in New Smyrna Beach, which opened in 1982. Leeper devoted the majority of her time in the '80s to ACA and is considered the prime mover in its development, forming its first board and national advisory council. Almost two decades later, Atlantic Center is considered one of the premier artists' communities in the world, as well as a model for the harmonious existence integrating manmade structures and the natural environment.
Leeper was also a founding member and the catalyst behind the creation of the Alliance of Artists' Communities, a consortium of artists' colonies and residency programs across the country. The mission of the Alliance is to improve the environment in which artists' communities support artists and their creative processes.
Continuing her advocacy on behalf of talented artists, in 1995, Leeper purchased a 7,500 square foot vintage warehouse in New Smyrna Beach and, with partner Ed Harris, readapted it as a commercial gallery for visual artists. "Arts on Douglas" opened in February 1996, showcasing work by 50 Florida artists.
For over forty years, through her professional career in the arts, her extraordinary commitment to the field, and her passion for environmental causes, Doris Leeper has made vital and long-lasting contributions to the enhancement of the arts and the preservation of the environment.
Doris Leeper passed away on April 11, 2000 at the age of 71. She had been battling cancer for several years. A memorial service was held on April 15 at Atlantic Center for the Arts. In her memory, the Doris Leeper Endowment has been established. To contribute, or for more information, please contact ACA’s Development Office.
* High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA. Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN. Jacksonville Art Museum, FL. Greenville County Museum of Art, SC. Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC. Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL.
** Loch Haven Arts Center (now Orlando Museum of Art), FL. Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN. Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS. Museum of the Palm Beaches (now Norton Gallery and School of Art), West Palm Beach, FL. Lemoyne Art Foundation, Tallahassee, FL. Daytona Beach Community College, FL