RENDERING OF NEW MAITLAND ART CENTER'S QUE THROM AND CICERO GREATHOUSE EDUCATION STUDIOS
The Maitland Art Center, part of Art & History Museums – Maitland (Website), is poised for its first major expansion since its founder, Jules André Smith, passed away in 1959. The city of Maitland recently approved the project, which will add two new education buildings, totaling roughly 6,000 SF, behind the original 1937 artist studios.
One building will house an expanded ceramics program, A&H’s most popular class offering. The other will feature flexible classrooms designed for painting, drawing, printmaking, and related disciplines, alongside a small gallery intended to display works by longtime supporters Que Throm and Cicero Greathouse, as well as pieces by current art school instructors and artists.
Relocating classrooms into the new structures will free the historic studios for returning individual artists, reinstating the Artist in Action residency program, and restoring the original purpose of the campus, first envisioned by Smith.
The expansion is named the Que Throm and Cicero Greathouse Education Studios and is largely funded by the couple’s estate. The facility is designed by DLR Group and occupies 1.26 acres immediately north of the original campus.
A&H anticipates groundbreaking soon, with the new studios likely to open by spring 2027. Cost estimates for the project are currently hovering around $2.5 million.
The Maitland Art Center is a rare surviving example of Mayan Revival architecture in the Southeast, originally conceived as an experimental artists’ retreat. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, recognized for its distinctive fantasy-architecture aesthetic and heritage as a creative haven.
It’s located at 231 W. Packwood Avenue [GMap] and you can visit for free on the last Wednesday of every month during “Last Wednesday,” when they have a cash bar and open gallery hours, starting at 5:30 p.m.
