CLEWISTON — Because the Lake Okeechobee area's cultural significance is most often linked with unearthing archaeological artifacts, it is surprising to discover one of the state's most spectacular 20th-century works of art in the cocktail lounge at the historic Clewiston Inn.

More than 60 years ago, U.S. Sugar commissioned the epic mural showcasing the landscape and wildlife unique to the Everglades.

"There are no other Everglades in the world," wrote Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in her groundbreaking book, The Everglades: River of Grass, published two years after the landmark mural was installed at the inn.

In 1945, Norton Gallery School of Art Director J. Clinton Shepherd explored the Everglades with his sketchbooks and watercolors, documenting mangroves, marshes and hammocks, along with egrets, owls and alligators, before transforming these drawings into graphic, life-sized vignettes on 784 square feet of canvas mounted on the walls of his Norton studio.

A noted sculptor, commercial illustrator and portrait artist, Shepherd's contrast of the idyllic and the realistic resulted in an insightful picturesque panorama.

Florida recently announced a massive plan to re-establish the "river of grass," in large part by buying out U.S. Sugar. Yet, however colossal the planned restoration, the Clewiston mural portrays an Everglades that can never be reconstructed. It resonates with a lost enchantment and encapsulates the essence of a complex ecosystem that flourished for a millennium before its delicate balance was denatured and destabilized.

In the mural's disparate habitats, diverse wildlife converges into a seamless 360-degree dimensional composition skillfully crafted and combining fine art and commercial art techniques.

Located on the inn's ground floor, the Everglades Lounge welcomes guests and residents, whether bass fisherman or birdwatchers, to enjoy the mural and to linger and unwind either at the bar or seated at one of the banquettes that encircle the room.

The mural is as compelling and contemporary as it was six decades ago.

Rather than create art for museums, removed from everyday life, Shepherd and many of his mid-century contemporaries believed public murals were vital exponents to enhance the public's appreciation for art.

In January 2007, U.S. Sugar sold the Clewiston Inn to Big Lake Hotels, whose principals, Floyd Salkey and Yasir Khan, see Big Sugar's exit as an opportunity to diversify the area's future potential.

"We are determined to play a part in the remaking of the Everglades," said Salkey, "and the mural will always be a part of the mix."

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