New at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, Plate to Paper: Women Printmakers in Pinellas is an exhibition of works by 14 artists, all of them local or with work/study ties to the bay area, who advanced the art of printmaking to the next level.
“The stories are really varied,” said exhibit curator Ashley Burke. “And I wanted to show how varied that story is. And the work really speaks for itself. It takes a high level of skill to master, which is really impressive when you understand what it takes to do printmaking.”
Historically, the grande dame of Pinellas printmaking was Polly Knipp Hill (1900-1990), a native New Yorker who worked as a commercial artist before continuing her studies in France, at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
She and her husband, oil painter and muralist George Snow Hill, landed in St. Petersburg in 1933. They were immediately embraced by The Art Club of St. Petersburg, which exhibited their work, and Polly became known for her etchings and prints.
Together, the couple established Hill Studio, in their Lakewood Estates home, where Polly taught etching and printmaking…