A home built by one of the early artist pioneers of St. Petersburg is for sale.
Between 1937-1941, famed American artist Mark Dixon Dodd and fellow colleague and architect Archie Paris built 19 charming homes that would become the core of the Driftwood neighborhood near Big Bayou in St. Petersburg. As a sort of a celebratory gift, each one of these homes came with an original painting from Dodd, which was often displayed above the fireplace.
Now, one of the few homes the duo built outside of Driftwood (and the painting that comes with it), is on the market.
Located at 140 27th Ave. N., in the Old Northeast neighborhood, the home is referred to as the "Driftwood Cottage" and was completed by Dodd and Paris in 1928, just three years after Dodd and his wife, Vivien Moran, moved from New York City to St. Petersburg.
The 2,048-square-foot home has since been restored and updated, says the listing, and now comes with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as hardwood floors, two wood-burning fireplaces, high-beamed ceilings, original shiplap, Mediterranean tile flooring, new Café appliances, quartz and marble countertops, a wine cooler, an outdoor fireplace, a tiny house, a saline pool, and more.
A representative with Premier Sotheby's told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that Dodd's painting will also be included with the sale.
Known for his natural still life, and romantic paintings, Dodd was St. Petersburg Junior College's first fine arts director, and still has paintings hanging at the Gibbs campus. He also opened the Mark Dixon Dodd School of Art in 1930 at 232 Beach Dr.
In 1932, the state of Florida commissioned Dodd to paint a 10-by-12-foot mural for the Chicago World's Fair, titled "Seminole War," which was unfortunately destroyed after the event. However, a sketch of the work can still be found today at Fort Cooper State Park.
Dodd was also an accomplished architect, and besides his Driftwood homes, he also built the Turnstile Motel, and the long gone Goose Pond Tavern on 4th Street, which he ran for years.
Dodd suffered from asthma and died Nov. 4, 1952 of lung disease.
The Driftwood Cottage is currently asking $1.85 million, and the listing agents are Linda Snow and Lea Newman of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.
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