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The Ancient Palms Within by Molly Mabe
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
The Ancient Palms Within
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

The Ancient Palms Within

Artist
Year2003
Classification painting
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions6 ft. 6 in. × 10 ft. 2 in. (198.1 × 309.9 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • The landscape depicted in Molly Mabe's painting The Ancient Palms Within is an imagined palm grove, not a specific place.  These vanishing groves have existed since the earliest times.  The painting invites viewers to imagine what it might be like to walk among a thicket of old-growth palms, feeling the change in light from bright to dark, always covered by the shimmering lime-blue light of the palm canopy, unique to a palm glade.  The palms in Mabe's painting are sable or cabbage palms, the state tree of Florida.