Eluster Richardson, a native of Tallahassee, was born on the Ayavalla Plantation just off of Old Bainbridge Road. He is widely acclaimed for his mastery of many media, including watercolor, oils, pencil and pen & ink. His works have won numerous awards in Florida and regionally. Eluster is the Artist in Residence for the Riley Center and Museum of African American History & Culture.

Images taken from Eluster Richardson's Collection

"Take me to the Water."
Lake Jackson, 1997, watercolor, 5" x 7".
Baptisms, celebrated religious occurrences, were carried out in rural lakes such as Tallahassee's Lake Jackson. The baptism depicted in this watercolor took place in the 1950s. A favorite place for baptisms was Rollins Lake (Point), an arm of Lake Jackson. John Rollins, a black man, owned a 60-70 dairy farm "on the Point" with some 75 employees, and transported the milk and eggs to town to sell at market.

"Rascal Yard, Downtown Tallahassee."
1998, Watercolor, 25" x 25".
Black farmers brought produce into town by mule and wagon to sell on the spot that is now the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. Rascal Yard was the forerunner of the present-day farmer's, flea and curb markets.

"Granny Atkins, Leon County Lay Midwife."
1997, oil on canvas, 37" x 25".
Atkins was born in Tallahassee in 1865. Her birthing books record her births from 1934-1950; many others occurred prior to the requirement that births be recorded. She "caught" some 2,000 babies in Leon and surrounding counties, offering the dedication and warmth of the midwife in the evolving relationships of the medical profession. She died in 1967 at the age of 107.

"Freedom's Pain, a portrait of Rev. C. K. Steele."
1998, watercolor, 32" x 25".
Rev. Charles Steele (1914-1980) is generally acknowledged as a pivotal figure in the social change of the South, beginning with the 1956 Tallahassee bus boycott. He worked along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. David Abernathy, former UN Ambassador Andrew Young, and other civil rights workers to redefine human dignity. This contemplative portrait reveals both his battles: one against cancer and the other against the "social death" that afflicted minorities.

Quiltin'	Favorite Place
Your Way	Tobacco Blues
Barren	The Future
Home	Country Bliss
Stripped	4 Star General Chappie James
	Learnin'
Toby's Shine	Unconditional
Johnson Beach	Grinding
Cotton Trails