Within the borders of Laurel Park reside many talented artists. Numerous sculptors, painters, musicians, architects and textile designers have moved into the area over the last few years, and the neighborhood is becoming more attractive to new artists all the time.

Actually, Laurel Park has always been home to people in the arts. One Laurel Park artist who long-time Sarasota residents will surely remember is Arlie Gray. Arlie, his wife Gladys, and their two children moved to Sarasota in 1964, and into their Laurel Park home on Julia Place three years later. Gladys owned and operated a small motel at the corner of Main and Goodrich, while Arlie was a prolific painter who maintained a gallery downtown, near Five Points Park.

From 1965 through 1979 Arlie’s business thrived, until tragedy struck when a fire at the nearby Liggets Drug Store damaged his gallery beyond repair. Arlie’s huge inventory of landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits had to be moved quickly to avoid further damage. As Mrs. Gray explained during our interview, “Many of the neighboring business people pitched in that Sunday morning to help us move Arlie’s collection. Several paintings were actually sold during the move to onlookers who were taken by Arlie’s work.”

The Grays then moved their gallery to Washington Blvd. near the current location of the Waffle Stop. They stayed there until 1981, when they bought the building at 405 Julia Place and were able to work directly across from their home. Expanding the business to include frame-making, Arlie continued to sell hundreds of paintings each year for the next twelve years. Sadly, a stroke took Arlie’s life in 1993. Mrs. Gray closed the Gallery and sold the building shortly thereafter.

Arlie Gray’s legacy lives on in his many paintings which hang in private homes as well as in the instructional books he wrote on drawing and sketching. One of his best- known portraits - that of long-time Sarasota Tax Collector Charlie Hagerman - hangs in the county courthouse.

Mrs. Gray still lives in the house on Julia Place, where she maintains a collection of over 500 of Arlie’s original paintings. Gladys admits she is willing to part with some of these treasures, many of which are in beautiful gilt frames and priced afford- ably. Anyone wishing to view Arlie Gray’s work is invited to call Mrs. Gray at 953-9851.

Written by Dan McNicol

Laurel Park News, Volume 8, Autumn 1997