On View at Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point campus November 15, 2025, through August 30, 2026
October 29, 2025 – Sarasota, FL. | Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is pleased to present Robert Louis Stevenson: A Child’s Garden of Verses on view November 15, 2025, through August 30, 2026, at Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point campus, located at 401 North Tamiami Trail, in Osprey.
This new exhibition celebrates childhood and the imagination of youth through the words and images of A Child’s Garden of Verses, the beloved book of poetry for children by the celebrated Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. The exhibition features photographs of pages from a vintage edition of the book, combining Stevenson’s poetry with illustrations by the notable American artist, Alexander Dobkin. Accompanying the photographs are simple interactives that draw their inspiration from Stevenson’s poems and enhance the visitor experience. An audio element enables visitors to hear the poems read by Selby Gardens’ Artist in Residence, Patti Smith.
“A Child’s Garden of Verses invites us to rediscover the wonder and imagination of youth,” said Jennifer Rominiecki, President & CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. “Through the timeless words of Robert Louis Stevenson, the evocative illustrations of Alexander Dobkin, and the voice of Artist in Residence Patti Smith, this exhibition beautifully celebrates the innocence, curiosity, and creativity that connect childhood to the natural world—a spirit that is at the heart of Selby Gardens.”
Sponsored by A. Hamilton and Edith T. Gardener Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation
Presenting Sponsor of the Patti Smith Residency: Marianne & Bill McComb
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