Riley F. Napier, St. Petersburg. Oil on canvas,18 by 24 inches, signed lower right and on back Thrill Hill Bridge, St. Petersburg, Fla. Stamped Frames Riley F. Napier 2402 9th St. North, St. Petersburg, Fla.
NAPIER, Riley F. St. Petersburg
Friends described Riley Napier as a typical southern Georga Cracker. Born in Georgia in 1913, Napier first came to Florida in 1942 as a recruit with the U. S. Navy and after 18 months service in the South Pacific, returned to Florida in 1946 for study at the Ringling School of Art. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1949 to open the Napier School of Art on 9th Street North. Napier worked as a professional artist in St. Petersburg into the 1960’s. Born: 1949, Valdosta, Georgia. Died: February 10, 1989, St. Petersburg. Education: Ringling School of Art; Dorothy & Hilton Leech at Amagansett Art School; Helen Sawyer; Jerry Farnsworth. Membership: Florida Federation of Art; Art Club of St. Petersburg; Creative Arts Group of Tampa Bay. Exhibits: Florida State Fair, Tampa, February 1950, first prize; Largo Fair, 1950, 2nd prize; Art Club of St. Petersburg, joint exhibit with Ralph McKelvey, April 1950; Art Club of St. Petersburg, Christmas Exhibit, December 1950; Florida Federation of Art, Annual, Tallahassee, November 1951, Dean Leigh Memorial Award, best representational work in oil or watercolor, Wild Flowers; Florida State Fair, February 1951, Tampa, 1st prize, watercolor; Florida Federation of Art Annual, 1952, award; Florida State Fair, Tampa, 1952; Tampa Art Institute, November 1952, 25 paintings, oils and watercolors; Contemporary Arts Gallery, Pinellas Park, October 1958; Art Club of St. Petersburg, Members’ Jury Show, February 1960, 1st award, Janet King, Evelyn Longley Memorial Award, oil, After the Rain; Pinellas County Fair, Largo, February 1959, blue ribbon, oil, Wild Flowers; Fifth Annual Painting of the Year exhibit, Atlanta, April-May 1959; Florida State Fair, Tampa, exhibited between, 1956-1962; Treasure Island Art Gallery, January-February 1965, Avis, Matador, Tarpon Springs, Lifting Fog; Hernando DeSoto Celebration, A Mile of Art, Bradenton, March 1966, Best in Show, Figure of a Girl. Directory: Listed in the St. Petersburg City Directory in 1954, 55, 56, 57, as an artist and commercial artist with studio at 247 81st Avenue North.
