Roger and Sarah Bansemer of St. Augustine work on a shot for their public television program "Painting and Travel with Roger and Sarah Bansemer." They are near the Portland Light historic lighthouse in Maine. | Roger Bansemer
Published on April 24, 2024 at 3:52 pm
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A St. Augustine artist and a Jacksonville Southern Rock band lead the list of this year’s Florida Artists Hall of Fame inductees.
Artist Roger Bansemer of St. Augustine is renowned for his nationally televised series Painting and Travel with Roger and Sarah Bansemer, produced for public television. Roger Bansemer has lived in Florida for 66 years, and the couple’s show aired over 32,000 times in 2023, state officials say.
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Roger Bansemer has been painting since he was a child, but he got his start as a professional artist painting grocery store signs and holiday window displays. That paid his way through college, and since then he’s worked as a fine artist.
Bansemer said he was thrilled to be recognized by the state for his work, especially among such a talented group of 50 potential inductees that included actor Burt Reynolds and author Zora Neal Hurston.
“It really feels good,” he said. “It makes me feel like what we’ve been doing for so many years is appreciated.”
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Nowadays, the Bansemers are hard at work on the newest season of their PBS show.
Free Bird band Lynyrd Skynyrd, formed in 1964 in Jacksonville, is also among the inductees. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd referred to the group as the ambassadors of Southern Rock. Other inductees are Florida funk artist and Funkadelic band member George Clinton and Miami artist Xavier Cortada.
An induction ceremony is planned, and the inductees will receive a commemorative bronze sculpture made by St. Augustine artist Enzo Torcoletti. In addition, a plaque for each inductee will be permanently installed on the Florida Artists Hall of Fame wall in the rotunda of the Florida Capitol.
