The Key West citizen. [volume], December 31, 1953, Page Page 3, Image 3

About The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current

Image provided by: University of Florida

                
JO ELLEX KELLER, Editor
UwfWir, Pwiwfcir 31, ItSJ
Gene Ottos Combine Backgrounds
Of France, Key West In Homestead
Expressive Of Artistic Achievements
Paris vas the prelude that drew Bostonian Anne Parker and Key
Wester Gene Otto into the harmony of an art and a marriage shared
and understood.
Anne Otto was studying music in the French capital when she
met art student Gene Otto. They delighted in the City of Light's
opalescent mists, In the chimney pots and mansard roofs, in the
bright carta of the flower-aellera, and, most of all, in one another.
Gene Otto searched all of Paris
for a gift for his fiancee and found
nothing lovely enough to satisfy
him. . .until be went into the lit
tle shop of an antiquaire where he
had selected gifts for his family
from time to time. Still there was
nothing beautiful enough for his
even more beautiful Anne. Then hia
eye caught the sparkle of a deli
cately wrought silver cross set;
with white sapphires. The stumb
ling block was that it rested in
the stout folds of Madame the
Shopkeeper’s rusty black dress.
It definitely was not for sale. It
waa, Madame assured him, a trea
sured personal possession.
Finds Gift
In vain Gene Otto pleaded, brib
ed and very nearly threatened.
Madame was obdurate and totally
unmoved until her would-be patron
blurted out that be wanted the
cross as a gift for hia fiancee.
Madame immediately became his
ally, though she scolded at first
because he had not said at once
that an affair? de coeur waa involv
ed. To hia chagrin, Gene Otto dia-i
covered that it was still impossible
to purchase the exquisite orna
ment. for Madame preesnted it to
him in an impulsive Gallic gesture
as her gift to him for hia fiancee.
* Anne Otto keeps the shining sap
phire cross in one of the tiny draw,
ers of an old French chest in the
boudoir of their Key West home.
After their wedding in Paris, at
tended by members of Anne Otto’s
family who had crossed from Bos
ton to be with her, there was a
honeymoon on the Riviera where
they sought out, for their long stay,
a small pension and were happy in
Its seclusion. They particularly en
joyed the excellent cuisine of this
out-of-the-way place.
ANNOUNCEMENT CALENDAR
THURSDAY, December 21st
12; 15—Rotary Club, St. Paul’s Parish Hall
2:oo—Auxiliary (sewing), at Monroe General Hospital
•;30—Lions Club, at the Den, aOO7 Seminary St.
t:OO—CAP Cadets at Poinciana Community House
I:oo—Lower Keya Property Owners’ Ass’o., place to be an
i nounced
FRIDAY, January Ist
As this la New Year’s Day, please contact the chairjnan of your
club or organization to inquire whether or not meetings scheduled for
today are to be postponed.
V *
SOCIETY - PERSONALS - NEWS OF INTEREST TO WOMEN
THI KIY WIST CtTIZIN
Years later, when compliment
ing the chef of a trans-Atlantic
liner. Gene Otto mentioned the
"unknown* 4 Riviera inn. The ehef
pressed him for further information
and upon bearing the name of the
honeymoon pension, told the Ottos
that it was one of the most famous
of all France, and that he himself
had adapted some of its specialties
into his cooking. The Ottos were
fortunate enough to eat humble
pie in the guise of Companie Gen
erals Transatlantique’a finest cul
inary achievements.
Returns Heme
After his years of study in
France in several reknowo schools
including the Grande Cbaumiere,
L’Haute and the Academie Juli
enne at which Sargent and Whist
ler received their training, Gene
Otto was faced with the matter of
establishing a permanent house
hold.
When he turned to his wife, in
indecision, she said "There are
two places in the world where I
could always be happy. . .Brittany
or in Key West.”
The best of the France that is
so much a part of the Ottos was
added to Key West's heritage when
they came to this city to live. In
the setting of their collection of
fine old French furniture that is
surprisingly at home in the Vic
torian surroundings of Gene Otto’s
mother’s house, the gifted couple
have created a charming atmos
phere that draws upon the influ
ence of the old and new worlds.
; The Ottos have succeeded in
! surmounting the stiffness and for-j
mality of cabinet-making of the
quatorzieme, quinzieme and seiz
jieme periods of the Louis, Kings of
France, with the pleasant bergere
\ *
/
Page 3
Le Jar dirt
yV
■ Jf i
MR. AND MRS. GENE OTTO find happiness “in their own backyard,” which happens to be the
charming garden of their Key West home. The Ottos lived in France for many years while
Gene Otto received the training that was to be the technical foundation lor the art of his ma
turity which has won him acclaim as the Key West artist.
feeling of a country house. The
walls of the high-ceilinged rooms
are hung with the original papers
mounted on linen and the colors
have mellowed to a rich ailver
sepia. The sensitive hues of the
| woodwork, the new dining-room
'and the exterior of the graceful
old Key West house are originated
by Gene Otto.
The artist’s studio is the former
dining-room which is beneath the
room in which he was born. The
studio bolds simple but carefully j
selected furniture and materials
used in Hfs painting. There is a
feeling of intensity in the room, yet
a remoteness not only from the
rest of the house but from every
thing except Ghne Otto’s creative
ness.
Dominant Rolt
Though, like all artists, Gene Ot
to is an entity unto himself, his
eminence in the field of painting
is at least partly attributable to his
dominant role in his own house
ITEMS OF INTEREST TO EVERYONE
| hold. Anne Otto gave up her career
in music though she had found
considerable success including pi
anoforte engagements at the Rain
bow Room in Rockefeller Center in
;New York where she played her
|own arrangements. She found her
true fulfillment in her husband’s
career in Key West, and has done
a rather stunning job of finding
her metier in being a gifted home
maker and superb cook.
While Anne Otto graciously fills
many requests made by Key West
clubs and organizations, .her hus-j
band has produced a genre of
painting that is entirely his own
and has brought him acclaim as
the Key West artist.
Art Contribution
The outstanding contribution of
Gene Otto, to date, to American
painting is the subtlety and so
phistication of his European back-!
ground combined with the high key
and vibrance of Key West light.
His work represents emotional ma
turity and technical skill.
) Philip Wylie described. In his
i perceptive way, impressions of
Gene Otto’s art in 1950. .
He said “The cataract of light
which floods Key West has chal
lenged many painters and then, as
they painted, overwhelmed their
palettes and confused their talents, i
In tumults of coloration they have
generally lost, and lost altogether,
that mixture of strange magic and
Intense familiarity which they have
perceived and relished and endea
vored to set down. The light Is
starkly white, the radiance of tro
pical sun. so constant and so vio
lent in Itself. As it bathes the land
scape, even the most freshly-open-i
ed flower gives back from its vivid
surfaces more of the sense of pure
light than of particulare hue.
“This is the observation upon
which Gene Otto has based an ori
ginal thesis for painting tropical
regions —a thesis which has met
with enthusiasm among critics and
collectors. He has found anew key
in which to reflect the light soak
ed land, a key in which the colors
wince in the heat and blanche in
the luminosity until his very' can
vas. seared and steamed by the
half-blinding whelm of glare and
glitter, takes on the feeling of his
s subject.”
Exciting Them*
j Aside from Gene Otto’s incom
parable scenes of Key West, there
will be anew and exciting sur
prise when he exhibits his art in
February. His still-life paintings
are full of vigor and the refresh
ing feeling of his ow*n interpreta
tion. He b i preserved the best of
Mr. and Mrs. George Mills White
Announce the Opening of
THE BOOKSHOP
554 FLEMING STREET
On Saturday , January 2nd
COMPLETE BOOK SERVICE RENTAL LIBRARY
the old together with the zest and
movement of the new.
In his own words, Gene Otto
states “Key West is my heritage,
yet I feel that 1 am avant guards
in my art; I use all the past en-j
compassed in what I have exper
ienced, then push a bit further.”
In his still lifes, metals and por
celains have a ringing brilliance in
their high-lighted realism while
fruits, flowers and fabrics unfold
a lush t-ctual quality. Within it all
is the idealism of the artist that
transcends the ordinary and brings
the what-we-know into the realm
of pure beauty.
Gene Otto is not limited by nar-j
rowness of concept. He finds love
liness and inspiration in the fam
liar and commonplace, but he sees
in these the universal essence of
the subject and translates it,
through his genius, into a supreme
experience.
Easy Christmas Sundae: whole
cranberry sauce spooned over va
nilla ice cream. If you like, you
may heat the sauce when you take
it from the can, adding a little
brown sugar and cinnamon to it,!
and then ladle it over the ice
cream.
New Bookshop
To Be Opened
By Key Westers
Mr. and Mrs. George Mills White
are filling a long-felt need in the
community with the opening of
their book-shop Saturday on Flem
ing and Simonton Streets.
The accent is on service, and
though the shop will carry an inter
esting selection of new books, or
ders will be taken and promptly
filled for any titles not appearing
on the shelves.
Hours will be from nine in the
morning until nine in the evening
to facilitate everyone’s use of the
bookshop. It will be of interest to
Key Westers and tourists alike
that there will be an up-to-the
minute lending library which will
contain the newest best-sellers as
well as a wide range of books to
suit all tastes.
Key West is fortunate in having
people of the ability, taste and
background of the George Mills
Whites to manage the bookshop and
the opening day is looked forward
to by everyone in the Island City
who is interested in books.
The Hansens
To Open New
Panther Room
Fred and Renee, popular man
agers of the Fantasea Room at
the Trade Winds, are opening a
new lounge to herald the New
Year this evening.
The new room will be called the
Panther Room and it is situated
opposite the Fantasea Cocktail Bar
in the same building.
An entirely new decor bas been
employed and the atmosphere is
one of sophistication and intimacy
which keynotes the entertainment
theme which the Hansens intro
duced to Key West and have made
popular here.
SUNDAY BRUNCH
Your family will love this deli
cious hot bread.
Grapefruit Halves
Cereal
Hem and Eggs
Orange Coffee
Beverape
Coke
ORANGK COFFKI CAKK
Ingredients: 2 cups biscuit mix,
1 tablespoon grated orange rind.
* teaspoon mace, 2 tablespoons
sugar, t 4 cup milk, V 4 cup fresh
orange juice, 1 egg (well beaten),
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
(melted), 6 large or 12 small lumps
of sugar, V 4 teaspoon mace, 1 Vi
teaspoons grated orange rind, l
tablespoon fresh orange juice.
Methoid: Mix biscuit mix, 1
tablespoon orange rind, V 4 teaspoon
mace and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir
in milk, Vi cup orange juice, egg
and butter just until dry ingre
dients are moistened. Spoon into
paper baking cups placed in 12
medium-size muffin pans, filling
cups two-thirds full. Place Vi Urge
or whole small lump of sugar in
center of each muffin. Mix V 4 tea
spoon mace. 1 Vi teaspoons orange
rind and 1 tablespoon orange juice;
dribble H teaspoon over each su
gar lump. Bake in moderate (375F)
oven 20 to 25 minutes.
Despite their mythical nine liv
es, cats rarely live to be more
than IS years old.
COIFFURE DESIGNERS
, the
I. REIDS
Salon of Beauty
22 Fleming S. Phene 2-521)
LA CONCHA HOTSL
ho^l terior .
Custom Werk Dene In Our Own
Decorating Workshop
DIAL 2-2)45
m FUMING ST, KIY WIST
ASTHMA
ivtmtis find cue* roe misirt
OUI TO ASTHMA ATTACKS. BUSMtO HfUt
Nw kept tor i*IM ftoaa mllhu |tnv
ymm io nm toOir roporta of swrooM with
; a palliative formula Urk Bate to relies.
: roapastioa. Man and roam ko former 1,
■ ufforvd wHS draad roopkiap. ekcAinp,
wkaoainp aatkma attack* now tall at bleated
rolirf after vein, it. rtOMfTIN eoata St. kt*
eoaaidoriap reaott*. this i* mot axpoaeir*
•mount* to ooly a few pemniea per data.
(Caution—ua# only aa directed.* rfOMffTM
i* raid with atriat mimay Spat poaraataa lip
CENTRAL PHARMACY, Corner
White end Truman Avenue —Mail
Orders Filled.
ilSf
May you look forward to
a banner year of abund
ance and lasting joy , as
we look forward to serv
ing you again in 1954!
SOUTHERN
ENGINEERING
COMPANY
lilt WHITE STREET
INDIAN RIVER
FRUIT $3.95
Insured and Express
Included
Hobby Shop
1105 Truman Avenue
PHONE 2*3961
TELEPHONEt Cuiaen Office, 23661
RAUL'S
SERVING COMPLETE DINNER
NEW TEAR'S DAY
FROM 12 NOON TILL 10:00 P M.
Roast Turkey $2.85
Raked Ham $2.65
Roast Sirloin ot Beef . . $2.75
Child's Ham or Turkey Dinner • $1.50
You'll En/oy It!
Hnppy New Year
SS&I9S* FRED and RENEE HANSEN
Help us Welcome our
Netr Addition
r Lgjjfo Gala New Years
Celebration
at the Netv
PANTHER ROOM
Favors, Nolsemakers, Special
Entertainment In Both the Fantasea
and Panther Rooms
—Added Attraction—
DIANE PIERCE 808 CHASE
Singer Piano
RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED for the PANTHER ROOM
Trade Winds
• We welcome 1954 with the hope that
h be a year of peace and contentment
V I° r our tMny friends and neighbors.
Front All of Vs at
HERMANS
New Year's Eve
CELEBRATION
FLEET RESERVE HOME
Caroline Street
Members and Their Ladies and Guests Invited
Favors Party Hats
RESERVATIONS
NOT REQUIRED