Jim and Joan Hutchinson built a home in Golden Gate not far from the Nekrassoff home on Willoughby Creek. As kindred artists they became friends and Serge taught both Jim and Joan the basics of copper enameling.
Jim Hutchinson gained fame as a fine artist and was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
https://dos.fl.gov/cultural/programs/florida-artists-hall-of-fame/james-f-hutchinson//
I think I first heard about Joan and Jim from “Babe” Hudson, the mother of my brother-in-law, Dale Hudson. Mrs. Hudson was very worried about the “starving artists” who had been living on the Seminole Reservation at Brighton and now had a baby boy.
After Serge Nekrassoff taught Joan enameling skills, and allowed her to use his kiln, she began taking commissions to paint people’s homes on copper trays. Mrs. Hudson became a patron, commissioning Joan’s pieces for gifts for friends and relatives. Two of Joan’s trays have remained in our family. One is of the Thurlow home on Riverside Drive and one was of Dale and Mary Hudson’s home Krueger Parkway.
I was able to photograph examples of Joan Hutchinson’s enameling but I did not know where I could find an example of Jim’s.
As is often the case, serendipity rules my life. Right after I visited Mary and Dale Hudson to photograph Joan’s enameled pieces, I drove to Florida Classics Library in Hobe Sound to buy books. When I stood at the counter to pay for my books, I glanced down and saw a copper enameled dish. It was Jim’s work! Val Martin, who founded Florida Classics Library was a close friend of the Hutchinsons. Jim had given the dish to Val Martin when his book store was across from Memorial Park in Stuart.
There is one other local person who learned copper enameling under Serge Nekrassoff, Jane Morrison, the granddaughter of George W. Parks who founded the merchandise store that is now Stuart Heritage Museum. Even though Jane lived all over the world after her marriage to Ray Fentriss, her experience with Serge Nekrassoff was mentioned in her obituary. The obituary, published in The Stuart News on August 24, 2017 stated “She also assisted and trained in copper enamel art under Serge Nekrassoff.”
Today, an Internet search of “Serge Necrassoff” bring up many things. There are items for sale on eBay. My interest is primarily his copper enameling but the pewter pieces that cannot be replicated today are of interest to collectors and authorities on metalcraft.
https://www.kellscraft.com/Nekrassoff/nekrassoff.html
Serge Nekrassoff’s son, Boris and his wife, Lois, presented a program for Stuart Heritage Inc. in April 2000.. To complete this blog I am featuring the Nekrassoff display that is there for all to see at the Stuart Heritage Museum, located in the commercial building constructed for Jane Fentriss’ grandfather, George Washington Parks, in 1901.
https://www.stuartheritagemuseum.com
