Ethel Zabriskie Banta, watercolor, 15.6 by 19.5 inches. Signed lower left E. Zabriskie Banta
Born in Philadelphia, Ethel Zabriskie Banta received her art education at Cornell University. in 1935 Banta was appointed to the office of Special Instructor of Art for the New York City public schools, a position she held until 1945. While in New York Banta continued her studies at the Art Students’ League. Banta and her artist husband Oliver Smith first came to Pinellas County in 1951. She and Smith exhibited widely in joint exhibits in Pinellas County and traveling shows in major cities in the United States and Canada. Banta was winner of first and second awards of the Nassau Art (New York) Association. In the fall of 1952, she won first place in the representation class for her watercolor, Safe Harbor, exhibited at the Art Club of St. Petersburg and the Florida Federation of Art. In January of 1953 Pinellas County opened a Tourist Welcome Station just north of Tarpon Springs on U. S. Highway 19. Prominently displayed were the paintings by Pinellas citizens including Banta; her husband, Oliver Smith and well-known Pinellas County artists Dixie Cooley and Arthur Covey.
Born: March 11, 1897, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Died: July 21, 1987, Palm Harbor. Education: Cornell University; Art Students’ League, NYC. Membership: Florida Federation of Art; Clearwater Art Group; Art League of Manatee County; Florida Artist Group; Dunedin Art Association; National Association of Women Painters; Philadelphia Watercolor Society; Washington Watercolor Society; Maine Watercolor Society; Rockport Art Association. Exhibits: Nassau Art Association; Mineola, New York, 1942, 1943, 1st, 2nd awards; Art Club of St. Petersburg, joint exhibit with husband Oliver Smith, November 1951; Art Club of St. Petersburg, March 1951, with husband Oliver Smith; Ridge Art Gallery, Winter Haven, joint exhibit with Oliver Smith, April 1952, 29 watercolors; Florida Federation of Art, 25th Annual, St. Petersburg, November 1952, 1st award, Safe Harbor; Clearwater Art Group, at Pinellas County Welcome Center, Huffman’s Corner, Gulf Coast Highway, January 1953; Florida Federation of Art, 1954, 1st place, watercolor; Florida Artists Group, Annual Circuit, 1954; Clearwater Art Group, Contemporary Arts Gallery, Pinellas Park, 1954; Palm Beach Art League, April 1955, Peace; Art League of Manatee County, All Members Exhibit, October 1955, 209 Ninth St. W. Bradenton, watercolors, Safe Harbor, Gasparilla Lies at Rest; Tampa Art Institute, 1955, one woman show; Contemporary Arts Gallery, Pinellas Park, 1955, 1956, 1957; Florida State Fair, Tampa, February 1956, prize; Clearwater Art Group, 8th Annual Exhibit, Gulf Coast Art Center, March 1957, Butterfly; Florida Artist Group, 8th Annual Exhibition, on national circuit, 1957-58, oil, The Practice Hour; Florida Federation of Art, 32nd Annual Exhibition, November 13-28, 1958, Daytona Beach, Good Harbor Beach; Pinellas County Fair, Largo, February 1959, watercolor first prize for, Old Cracker House, and Jeune Fille au Violin; Florida Federation of Art 33rd Annual Exhibit, Tampa, November 1959, an oil, Practice Hour; Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, March 1960, grand prize for Jeune Fille au Violin; Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, November-December 1960 with husband Oliver Smith; Florida Artist Group, Thirteenth Annual Circuited Exhibition, 1962-63, oil, San Francisco. Collections: First National Bank, Tarpon Springs; Public Library and Women’s Club, Tarpon Springs; Federal Savings and Loan, Tarpon Springs; Arnot Galleries, Elmira, N.Y.
