Meeting of the Minds

Perry was born and raised in West Palm Beach and educated at Ringling College of Art + Design in Sarasota, Florida. Later, he earned his MFA from Florida Atlantic University. Sam was self-taught in different styles and imaginative components.

He won several awards and grants, and his large-scale painting “Flashlight Gods” has hung in the Palm Beach International Airport for over 30 years. His work has appeared in numerous solo exhibitions and is collected by universities, private patrons, and museums, including the Norton Museum of Art. He has sold nationally and internationally and is recognized by fine art galleries in New York, Miami, and West Palm Beach. In the 1980s and 90s, Perry excelled as an abstract artist in commercial galleries.

He taught at the Armory Art Center and Palm Beach Atlantic University until his illness. Students studied with him for years, some for decades.

“Truly, Sam Perry exists in the realm of beauty now,” wrote Rybovich. “And to the extent that we can learn from his example, we can experience it in our own lives and art.”