VB Museum of Art: ‘Double Portraits’ worth seeing more than once

milt thomas

The latest exhibition at Vero Beach Museum of Art, Double Portraits, is a collection of 47 photographs by 34 artists that reveal an intimate view of life in the American South since World War II. Every photograph comes from well-known Southern photographers and emerging artists, including one by musician Michael Stipe of R.E.M. fame.

Double portraits are as old as photography itself, and this collection includes traditional portraiture, but it also explores the concept a step further. Each second image could be a reflection, an inanimate but culturally significant object, or a fragmented depiction. They all focus on human connections or the lack thereof.

Magdalena Solé, Darrell Copeland and Bella Hutchins with Dogs, Lambert, 2012. Archival pigment print, 14 x 21 inches. Collection of The Do Good Fund Inc., 2013-009 © Magdalena Solé

All the photos in this collection share a common theme – their humanity. They reflect the joys, challenges and complexities of relationships, memory and identity.

In one photo, a man sits on the porch of his Mississippi Delta home, looking over at a toddler standing in the doorway who looks back at him. Are they related?

Michael Carlebach, Flea Market, Miami, 1980. Gelatin silver print, 13 ½ x 9 inches. Collection of The Do Good Fund, 2021-004. © Michael Carlebach

Another image shows an elderly woman sitting unattended by a flea market booth, in front of a Native American-like replica staring out at its past.

A third photo (below, right) seems at first glance to be simply a painting, but holding it from behind is an adult, with a young child grasping the adult’s legs.

You will have to stop and explore each image in this exhibition as you would in an art gallery. A simple glance will not do.

The exhibition even includes double portrait Daguerreotypes from the 1800s.

Caroyln Drake, Untitled from the “Knit Club” series, 2019. Archival pigment print, 20 x 16 inches. Collection of The Do Good Fund, Inc., 2019-012. © Carolyn Drake

The exhibition photographs are on loan from the Collection of the Do Good Fund in Columbus, Georgia. Vero Beach Museum Chief Curator, Caitlin Swindell, selected these photos from more than 800 images. “I have arranged them here in a timeline showing how the double portrait changed at key points in time. There is really a power in looking at a photo and seeing how it is framed by the artist.”

The Museum is also offering public programs to complement and enhance the Double Portraits exhibition, beginning on Saturday, November 8 (free admission Saturday). Museum Studios Family Programming presents a family-friendly day of gallery mini-tours, artmaking and guided family activities. Then at 1:30 p.m., head to the Leonhardt Auditorium for a screening of F11 and Be There, the acclaimed documentary on photographer Burk Uzzle. The film traces Uzzle’s remarkable career, from his days as the youngest photographer ever hired by Life magazine to his ongoing exploration of American identity through the lens of his camera.

More upcoming programs related to the exhibition:

Ballet Vero Beach presents Reflections – Saturday, November 15

Art Talk: Connections, Captured – Wednesday, November 19 12-1 p.m.

Art of the Cocktail: Perfect Pearing – Friday, November 21 6:30 p.m.

Photo Walk: Snapshot Photography (Downtown Vero) – December 5 6:00 p.m.

Art Talk: Portraying Personalities – Wednesday, December 18 12-1 p.m.

The Double Portraits exhibition is on view at the Museum through January 11, 2026. It is well worth your time to see how photography is truly at art form.

For more information, visit the website vbmuseum.org or call (772) 231-0707.