VOLUMES
82
community, influencing “an awful lot of rednecks into being
a gentler, kinder bunch of people.”
That provocative quote had no attribution in the text, only
a footnote. I thumbed to the back of the book and looked
up footnote No. 99 to find that the comment was made by
Backus’ business manager, Don Brown, in a 2012 interview.
The book also had no full attribution for an erroneous
claim that the artist made a pet of wildlife. “He had a skunk
— a wild skunk — that lived in the studio in the late ’60s-
’70s. Never sprayed anybody.”
In an effort to find out who said that, I referred to the
footnote, but got only a last name, Neilson, and Backus Magic,
with a page number. I realized it may be a subsequent use of
the source, but I couldn’t find an earlier reference in the bibliography.
Telling the reader who said what right in the text
would have made the narrative a lot more readable.
Backus’ fondness for rum was never a secret and his generosity
to aspiring artists and others in need was well known.
Both matters are explored in the book. Backus, who died in
1990, was a colorful figure and the book could have benefited
from more funny stories about him, warts and all. >>
Vero Beach Opera 2017
LoVE & Loss:
An
Evening
of
Puccini
February 4 • 7 pm
Protagonists meet their fate in an evening of
arias, duets, and ensembles, performed by rising
stars from Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts,
accompanied by Chamber orchestra.
Viva La Zarzuela!
Spanish Operetta in Concert
Passion
&
Romance
March 25 • 7 pm
Tickets are $30, $40 & $50
Flamenco dancers, classical guitar,
zarzuela scenes & English supertitles.
Tickets: 564-5537
VeroBeachopera.org
VBHS Performing Arts Center
1707 16th Street, Vero Beach
Programs subject to change
Photos by JPR Images
Season Sponsor
Sponsored in part by the State
of Florida, Department of State,
Division of Cultural Affairs and the
Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Tickets are $30, $40 & $50
Backus, who lived in Miami for a few months after World War II before
returning to Fort Pierce, painted this urban scene entitled Third Street,
Downtown Miami in 1946.
Scenes of Florida’s backcountry, such as this one at the Adams Ranch, were
a common theme in Backus’ work. When he died in 1990 at 84, his ashes
were scattered over the ranch from a plane.
/www.verobeachopera.org
/VeroBeachopera.org
/www.verobeachopera.org
/VeroBeachopera.org