Sponge Exchange Apalachicola Print

The painting depicts the 1840 Sponge Exchange building in Apalachicola, Florida, surrounded by the late 1800’s warehouses on Water Street. In the old days, the Greek divers would bring in the sponges harvested from the Apalachicola Bay to the Sponge Exchange, there they were paid with script, a form of money which could be used to buy goods in the shops located near the exchange building.

Apalachicola remains a small fishing village with one of the most productive oyster beds in Apalachicola Bay. It also harbors a large shrimp fishing fleet that supplies a major portion of America’s shrimp markets.
The harvesting of sponges in Apalachicola Bay goes back over 200 years. When the Greeks arrived at the turn of the twentieth century, they had the technology to build boats and the diving equipment necessary to harvest sponges. Before the invention of modern plastic, practically every household in the world used natural sponges.

This numbered limited edition giclee print is $ 25. Free Shipping and is signed by the artist (me, Mike Segal) and is printed with permanent inks on 8.5 in. x 11 in. acid free paper. It comes hand-mounted in our studio by Marvi, in an 11 in. x 14 in. acid free white Bainbridge® mat on an 11 in. x 14 in. foam core backing board. The window opening on the mat is 7.5 in. x 9.5 in. This print is ready to frame in a standard 11 in. x 14 in. frame.