At the law offices of Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady in Tampa: “Star Proctor” and “Marco Polo Returns” (background) by James Rosenquistr [Photo: Tom Berndt]

Time was, the prototypical law office featured dark wood paneling and dim lighting, with walls adorned with prints of red-suited hunters on horseback chasing a fox through the English countryside. Alan Greer, a shareholder at Richman Greer in Miami, remembers those days and didn’t much like them. He thinks a Florida law office should reflect Florida — and his firm is one of a growing number around that state that are seeking that goal by displaying fine art

Greer’s collection, for example, is heavy on Hispanic artists from south Florida, Latin America and Cuba. “Such a huge part of our population in south Florida is Hispanic,” he says. “This is one way of telling them that they’re welcome in our offices. Art has an impact. It says something about your firm.”

Other law firms are also embracing art:

Holland & Knight, Jacksonville Summer Flowers, Mary Ann Bryan, oil on canvas, 65”x49”

Hunton & Williams, Miami Cigar Making District, Little Havana, John Gillian, ultrachrome print, 11”x14”

Richman Greer, Miami The Garden XI, Humberto Calzada, acrylic paint on canvas, 72”x48”

Art of lending

As Carlton Fields moved into its new building in Tampa a few years ago, it had to fill 90,000 square feet of space. The firm already had 50 paintings of its own, but it needed many more. Rather than go on a buying binge, the firm joined the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum Corporate Art Bank Loan Program, which, for an annual fee, lends businesses museum-quality art. For its $25,000 donation, Carlton Fields now displays about 100 paintings from USF’s Contemporary Art Museum and Graphicstudio. Some of the artists whose works are on display include Robert Rauschenberg and Chuck Close. “It’s fun because it brings reactions from people who normally don’t pay any attention to art,” says Anastasia Hiotis, the firm’s executive director.

Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady of Tampa has also joined the program. It has 33 pieces on display this year, including works by Andy Warhol-contemporary Jim Dine. “When our clients come to see us, they see a different side of our firm, that we’re just not all about business,” says William Schifino Jr., managing shareholder. “We’re multi-interested.”

Historic bent

In business since 1924, Gunster Yoakley & Stewart is Palm Beach County’s oldest commercial law firm. In 2004, in conjunction with its 80th anniversary, the firm purchased 100 historical photographs from the local historical society, framed the photos and hung them in communal areas in its West Palm Beach office. The firm also has plans to publish a book of the photos. “It’s a little bit of a subtle message hopefully,” says shareholder Bill Perry. “From a business side, it’s branding us as the oldest law firm, sort of dovetailing our history with the county’s history. It’s important for our lawyers to remember that as well.”

Miami melange

When Hunton & Williams opened its Miami location nine years ago, it wanted the community to understand that the firm was committed to south Florida. So it organized a contest among local photographers, with the winner creating a comprehensive collection of south Florida photographs for the office’s walls. Fort Lauderdale photographer John Gillan won, and his photos, aside from being displayed at the firm, have been compiled into a book called “Miami Melange: The Hunton & Williams Collection.”

“We didn’t want this to be just a bunch of Everglades pictures,” says Marty Steinberg, a partner. “We wanted to show all aspects of our community. We have some religious sites, court buildings, ethnic groups. I thought it was really important that this not be a fluff piece but really capture what goes on in south Florida.”

Some of the lawyers, including Steinberg, even accompanied Gillan on photo shoots. “I’m a frustrated photographer,” he says. “I went with him to the Miami River. There’s almost nothing like the Miami River, with all the bicycles going to Haiti and the docks with the cranes moving cargo. It was fascinating.”

Links: Learn more about the University of South Florida’s corporate art program and art efforts at other Florida law firms. For more articles this month with extra links, go to the Links page.