Florence Putterman uses imagery like a typesetter uses letters…imprinting her canvases with marks that create a language of fantasy, emotion and wonder.  Often applying sand and crushed shells to her canvas before painting, she allows these forms to lead her to the creatures and shapes that follow.

Following the receipt of an NEA grant to explore and study the prehistoric symbolism of our ancient civilizations, Florence began to develop her own symbolism. Her whimsical creatures of frolicking elephants, playful dogs and cats, colorful serpents and tropical birds combine with abstract marks, lines and curves and levitating figures reminiscent of Chagall or Miro to build a narrative of images that dance magically across her canvases. Her collages are composed of found objects, hand-made papers and Putterman’s great interest in giving discarded items a new life and meaning. Her colors are earthy, pungent and bold; and her use of sand and crushed shells makes a crackled texture surface that further intrigues the eye.

Although she considers herself a late-bloomer in the field of art, Florence has proven herself more than serious about what she does.  Having received a M.F.A. from Penn State University and then fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Florence has continued to exhibit extensively throughout the U.S. with literally hundreds of solo and group exhibitions.  She has received numerous awards and is featured in the collections of such notables as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Grand Rapids Museum of Fine Art, Chicago Art Institute, Portland Museum of Art and many, many others.  She has been a teacher, juror, mentor and an inspiration to those who have been fortunate to experience her zest for life and her love of art.

Florence divides her time between homes in central Pennsylvania and southern Florida, and her works are exhibited extensively throughout the U.S.

EDUCATION:
1947 - B.S., New York University
1963-1970 - Graduate Studies, Bucknell University
1973 - M.F.A., Penn State University

RECENT AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS:
2007 - Brand 36 Brand Library, Glendale, Ca
- Graphic Chemical Colorprint Society
2004 - Daniel Serra Baduie Award, Society of American Graphic Artists
2002 - Purchase Award La Grange National XXII Biennial, La Grange, GA
2001 - Colorprint Society, American College, Bryn Mawr, PA
2000 - National Association of Woman Artists, Sarasota, Florida
1999 - Dr. Everett Harrison Award, Florida Artists Group, Orlando, FL
1998 - Stockton Print and Drawing Purchase Award, Stockton, California
1997 - National Association of Women Artists, Palm Beach
- Purchase Award, Del Mar College Annual, Corpus Christie,TX
1996 - Daniel Serra V Nevas Memorial Award-Audubon Artists
- Elizabeth Morse Memorial Award, Florida Artists Group
- Leila Sawyer Memorial Award, National Association of Women Artists
1995 - Award for Excellence, Philadelphia Watercolor Club
- Stella Drabkin Award, Colorprint Society, Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA (also 1994)

RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2008 - Projects Gallery
2007 - Pennsylvania College of Technology williamsport, Pa
- Impressions Gallery,. Danville Pa
- Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Fl
- Barnstone Gallery, Phoenixville, Pa
- Walter Wickiser Gallery, NY
- Lynden Gallery eloizabethtown, Pa
2006 - Susquehanna Art Museum,. Harrisburg, Pa
- Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa
- City Hall, Hollywood, Fl
- Gallery 10 Washington, D.C.
2005 - Allyn Gallup Gallery, Sarasota, FL (also 2003)
2004 - Walton Art Center, Fayetteville, AR
- Baisden Gallery, Tampa, FL
- Pfenninger Gallery, Lancaster, PA
- Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY (also 2002, 1999, 1997, 1996)
2003 - Ten-Year Retrospective, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA
- Robeson Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
- Waterworks Visual Art Center, Salisbury, NC
2002 - Albany Art Museum, Albany, GA
- Milton Hershey Art Museum, Hershey, PA
- Texas A & M, College Station, TX 
- Center for the Arts, Longboat Key, FL
2001 - Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
- Maitland Art Center, Maitland, FL
- Tampa International Airport, Terminal A, Tampa, FL
- Mira Mar Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2000 - Art Museum, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
- Spartanburg Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC
- Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, MI
- Haas Gallery, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
1999 - Ellen Noel Museum, Odessa, TX
- Galerie Lumiere, Savannah, GA
1998 - Ziegenfuss Gallery, Sarasota., FL
- Burroughs-Chapin Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC
- Lighthouse Gallery, Tequesta, FL (also 1993)
- The Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA (also 1996, 1993, 1992, 1990)
1997 - Grand Central Gallery, Tampa, FL
1996 - Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC
- Donn Roll Gallery, Sarasota, FL (also 1994)
- State Capital, Tallahassee, FL
1995 - Grand Central Gallery, Tampa. FL

INTERNATIONAL GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
1997 - Colour Graphique, Krakow, Poland
1996 - U.S. Embassies, Sri Lanka & Benin
1993 - Galeria Briz Prinz, Madrid, Spain
1991 - Print Exhibition Museum of Fine Arts of Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
1991 - Spanish Embassy, Madrid, Spain
1988 - Art Made in the USA, Municipal Art Gallery, Regensburg, Germany