After a long and distinguished teaching, service, and creative career, Mark Messersmith will retire from Florida State University in April 2020.

We invite everyone to further Mark Messersmith's legacy by making a gift in his honor.

The Susan and Mark Messersmith Art Scholarship was endowed in 2018 thanks to the gifts of Mark and Susan, alumni, and friends. It continues the Messersmith commitment to generosity that includes the influential participation in public murals and support of local galleries.

The fund currently underwrites a scholarship in painting and in sculpture annually. Hitting the $20,000 goal will enable the Department to give out an additional annual scholarship, which we hope to announce at Mark's retirement party at the end of April.

In addition to your gift, please visit https://forms.cfa.fsu.edu/college-of-fine-arts-forms/private-forms/request-for-files/ to submit your fond memories or retirement congratulations.

About Mark Messersmith

Mark grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He received his BFA in painting from Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri and his MFA in painting from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He has lived in Tallahassee and taught at FSU since 1985. He has instructed countless students in the art of painting and drawing over the years. Mark was the recipient of a Joan Mitchell Painter & Sculptor Grant in 2006, which recognizes working artists worthy of greater national acknowledgement. His work combines realism, complex imagery, and vivid colors to provoke the viewer into considering the beauty and fragility of the natural world.