Southgate Mall has a new resident: Vincent Van Gogh’s Untitled, 1889. Currently on view at Art Avenue, the story behind “the Sarasota Van Gogh” spans 127 years and two continents. 

The work, an oil on board piece, displays the flat perspective and unconventional color choices that characterize Van Gogh’s later work. The painting, which depicts an abstract landscape rendered in curved, flowing lines, features rolling hills, blue floral stalks with touches of pink and a green-speckled orange sky.

Not much is known about the work’s early ownership history, though most recently it was held by a prominent Prague family and housed at their estate for many years before being sold to its current owner in Cleveland. Art Avenue owner Paul Sykes, who represents the work, helped broker the deal with the Czech family, a process that, between negotiations and final transaction, took six months to complete. Untitled, 1889 boasts an international résumé including gallery shows in London and a 1978 exhibition in Switzerland. 

“Not only is it an exquisite work, it’s an original, not a print,” said Sykes. “It’s been exhibited in several international museums, including the Galerie Arteba in Zürich, so it has good providence, good pedigree. We’re very honored to have pieces like this.” 

The history of the painting itself is as murky as its title, though the 1889 completion date gives us a few clues. The work was completed in the year preceding Van Gogh’s suicide and could have been painted during his year-long stay at a Saint-Rémy asylum (where Van Gogh completed a number of now-legendary works, including Starry Night), or just prior when living in Arles.  

Art Avenue hosted a soft unveiling of Untitled, 1889 on May 5th, though the work’s true début to the public was held on May 26th during the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s induction of two new members, including Sykes. He estimates that the work has had four or five owners in its lifetime and, for a cool $15 million, the next one could be you. 

Art Avenue, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 440-227-4592

The shrimp ceviche and guacamole at St. Armands’ Shore Diner has only been on the menu for about three weeks but it’s already a hit. The ceviche combines Gulf-sourced, lime-cured shrimp, chopped onions, tomatoes, peppers and jicama. That hint of sweetness? It’s orange soda made from real cane sugar and purchased from a local Mexican grocery store. Orange soda and ceviche might seem like an odd pairing, but don’t knock it ‘til you try it: the soda complements the already-present flavors with a tangy-sweet kick echoed by the juicy orange slices that top the guacamole. Dive deeper into the guac and you’ll find diced onions and chargrilled corn. In between the ceviche and corn, a pile of cumin-dusted corn tortilla chips holds court ready for dipping (Tostitos these are not).

A creation of Executive Chef Armando Reyes, this two-part dish pays tribute to Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Though the ceviche and guacamole are partitioned into separate dishes, Chef Reyes says that in the original Mexican version they’re actually mixed together. Shore's take does the same, albeit in mini form: take one of the tortilla chips, top it with a chunk of shrimp and finish it off with a scoop of guacamole for sweet, salty, summery perfection.  

Shore Diner, 465 John Ringling Boulevard #200, Sarasota, 941-296-0301

Leadership Sarasota County opend applications for the classes of 2016-2017. The Chamber's Leadership programs are designed to nurture and develop positive leadership qualities, striving to create awareness and connect leaders with issues. The deadline for candidates to apply for the adult class is June 6th and the deadline for the Youth Leadership Program is June 9th. Both applications can be found online on the Chamber's website.  

Leadership Sarasota

Former South African Open Champion and European Tour Winner Clinton Whitelaw has been appointed to the newly created first assistant golf professional position at University Park Country Club. In this role, Whitelaw is responsible for managing the Club’s Men’s Golf Association and Men’s Monday Night Golf League in addition to providing private and group lessons to all levels of players.  

University Park Country Club

On Jan. 17, a tornado touched down on Siesta Key and ripped through Sarasota County, leaving behind a path of destruction and causing two fatalities in neighboring Manatee County.

The storm’s extensive damage and the unfortunate loss of life was a powerful reminder of the need to be prepared. Many of us were awakened early that morning by weather alerts received via cellphone; many others missed the warnings entirely, or when they did hear them, weren’t quite sure how to respond or what they would do had the storm landed in their backyard.

Another hurricane season begins today, and while hurricanes typically come with much more advanced warning than a quick-striking tornado, they can present the same issues for public safety. With so many years having passed since the last hurricane to impact the Suncoast, and with so many new residents unfamiliar with hurricanes having moved to our community since then, complacency and unpreparedness are to be expected.

One way to combat those issues is by first ensuring that everyone is alerted of potentially dangerous weather. Sarasota County recently added a Weather Warning feature to its CodeRed system, which allows subscribers to receive calls, email alerts or text messages in the event of an emergency that could impact your neighborhood or business. The Weather Warning feature will automatically notify those registered of tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms and other weather warnings just minutes after an alert is issued by the National Weather Service.

CodeRED Weather Warning is an opt-in only service that is available for free by visiting www.scgov.net and clicking the CodeRED banner. For more information, call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 941-861-5000 and ask about CodeRED registration.

One other simple way citizens can prepare for hurricane season is to visit www.scgov.net and find out which evacuation zone they live in. Click on the “Evacuation Zones” link under Emergency Services at the bottom of the page. When the map appears, type your home address in the search box. As a storm approaches, Sarasota County Emergency Management will issue evacuation orders by zone, depending on the intensity of the storm and the expected height of storm tide.

Individual and family planning is also critical. The county plays an important role in responding to disaster, but if a major storm impacts our area, residents should prepare to be without basics such as food, water or power for up to 72 hours. Find more information and tips in the 2016 Disaster Planning Guide, available on the county’s website or at your local library, the county’s Emergency Operations Center or the Sarasota County Administration Center at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in Sarasota.

Sarasota County is doing its part to prepare for this year’s storm season. We recently hosted a day-long exercise at our state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center that involved not just our Emergency Management team but also representatives of all the county’s departments, as well as our cities and other regional and state partners. This in-depth training exercise allowed us to respond to a fictional “Hurricane Buck” and its aftermath, including all the various unforeseen scenarios that could unfold in a real disaster.

We have in-depth plans and procedures already in place for disaster response and recovery, but this was a great opportunity for us to train and test our team as we continue building our skills, partnerships and strategic-level decision-making. Sarasota County’s ability to respond and recover from not just hurricanes, but any disaster, is predicated on having excellent people, an informed public, tested plans and partnerships that come together during an event and place the community first.

Thomas A. Harmer is the Sarasota County Administrator. 

Otters and ice skates and improv, oh my! This month, we give a whole new meaning to “home for the summer” in Summer Sizzlers, our must-do guide to summer in SRQ. Enjoy inventive eats like DIY tacos, sweet potato pancakes and our cover star, octopus soppressata. Cool down with a round of ice skating at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex, clown around with otters at the Mote, unplug at Lake Manatee State Park and enjoy local music, theater and comedy shows, all in our own Gulf Coast backyard.

For those with kids, you’ll find a host of active, educational and, yes, fun ways to while away the summer months with your youngsters, from coding and 3D printing at Suncoast Science Center’s Summer Camp Program to splashing around at the Selby Gardens’ pop-up water playground. Ready, set, summer! 

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