Lot 45
Albert Ernest (Beanie) Backus (American, 1906-1990), Destination in View, early original oil painting on canvas. This dynamic Florida coastal scene features windswept palm trees under a bright sky, evoking a breezy shoreline. The thick impasto strokes and vibrant natural tones exemplify Backus’ style. Signed in the lower right and presented in a vintage wooden frame, the work reflects Backus’ mastery in capturing Florida’s warmth and atmosphere. A key figure in the Indian River School and a major influence on the Florida Highwaymen Movement, Backus is known as the Dean of Florida painters. Accompanied by family provenance paperwork from the estate.
Description created with
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Work Size: 38 x 30 in.
Dimensions: 44 X 36 X 2 in.
Condition: Fair overall vintage condition, with moderate age-related toning, surface wear, visible craquelure, paint losses, and signs of prior restoration, including in-painting throughout. Staining is present on the original canvas verso. The frame shows storage wear along edges and corners. This condition statement reflects an opinion, not a statement of fact. Bidders are encouraged to inspect items in person or through an agent. Estate fresh to the market.
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Albert Ernest Backus - Provenance
Albert Ernest Backus (American, 1906–1990), Four Paintings included in this auction, Lots 45, 46, 47, & 48; titled respectively: Destination in View, Mangroves on the Indian River, The Sentinel, and Three Palms by the Intracoastal Waterway Hill Auction Gallery. The Clinton S. and Grace I. Ezell Family Collection
Owned from 1937 to 2025.
Provenance and Family History
These four original paintings by A.E. Backus—known affectionately to us as “Beanie”—have been in my family’s possession for nearly nine decades. They were not purchased, but rather gifted directly from the artist to my parents, Clinton S. Ezell and Grace I. Ezell, in the late 1930s while he worked under my father’s supervision at the Florida and Sunrise Theatres in Vero Beach and Fort Pierce, Florida. That gesture of friendship would become a part of our family's story, passed down through generations, and lovingly preserved until today.
These four original paintings by A.E. Backus—known affectionately to us as “Beanie”, have been in my family A Fortuitous Friendship in Vero
My parents, Clint and Grace, arrived in Vero Beach in early 1937, newlyweds from Atlanta in search of opportunity during the lingering years of the Great Depression. My father had secured a rare job as the manager of two coastal theaters, and with that came the beginning of their life in Florida—and the beginning of their relationship with Backus.
At the time, Beanie was working as an illustrator for the same theaters, creating promotional material and posters. He answered to my father. But he wasn’t just another employee—he stood out. My parents quickly recognized in him a kind, soft-spoken man with a keen artistic mind and an even keener eye for Florida’s unique natural beauty. The friendship that developed between them was built on shared ambition, mutual respect, and the closeness that tends to grow in small, tight-knit towns.
Even then, it was clear that illustration was only part of Beanie’s story. His true calling was fine art, and he worked tirelessly on his personal painting outside of work hours. He had studied in New York at what would become the Parsons School of Design and returned home determined to capture the spirit of Florida—not as a backdrop, but as a subject worthy of reverence.
A Personal Gift from the Artist
It was during this early period, when my father was likely his last civilian employer, that Backus gifted these four paintings to my parents. There was no fanfare, no exchange of money—just an act of generosity and friendship. He knew they would appreciate his work, and they did. These paintings hung in our home from the very beginning and followed us when our family moved to Jacksonville in 1946, after my unexpected arrival required a larger income and new opportunities.
Beanie’s generosity was not unusual. It’s well known that he often gave his work away to friends, neighbors, and students. But to our family, these pieces were never just paintings. They were a connection to a person we deeply admired and a place we never stopped loving.
Living with Backus’ Vision
The scenes Backus painted—riverbanks, mangroves, sunlit waters—weren’t just aesthetic landscapes. They were visual biographies of Florida’s east coast, intimate studies of light and life along the Indian River and the Intracoastal. As a child, I vividly recall sitting in our Florida Room during summer storms, staring out at the wild palms and crashing rain—moments that mirrored the energy and stillness in Beanie’s work.
Backus' art always held space in our home, just as he held a place in my parents’ hearts. Years later, in 1987, I drove from Jacksonville back to Fort Pierce, carrying all four paintings with me to ask him about them personally. He was then teaching a class and still producing work with the same conviction he had decades earlier. To my astonishment, he remembered one of the works in great detail—over fifty years later. He even referred to one as a masterpiece. That visit was my last time seeing him, but it brought everything full circle. Legacy and Letting Go
Backus passed in 1990. In 1993, he was posthumously inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, recognized not only for his masterful landscapes but for his generosity and role as a mentor to an entire generation of artists.
For me, these four paintings have always meant more than their aesthetic value. They’re reminders of a specific time and place—of young love, fresh starts, and artistic dreams. They speak of Vero Beach before the world discovered it, of a time when a man could give away his art simply because he believed in its message.
Now, nearly 90 years later, I am the last Ezell in our family to own these works. With deep appreciation, I offer them to the world. May they bring you the same joy, memory, and sense of place they gave to us.
Mary Grace Ezell
March 26, 2025
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