There’s a monkey haunting Worth Avenue — and he’s never looked more fabulous.
Not just any monkey, mind you. This is Johnnie Brown, Addison Mizner’s martini-loving pet capuchin and rumored one-time mayoral candidate, reborn through the lens of artist Serge Strosberg in a lush, slyly satirical portrait series that’s swinging its way through galleries and collectors’ homes: Monkeying Around Palm Beach.
On the surface, it’s all playful charm — monkeys in pastel blazers, posing courtside or sipping cocktails poolside. But beneath the whimsy lies something more layered: a commentary on identity, leisure, and the art of belonging in one of America’s most performative playgrounds.
Strosberg first encountered Johnnie not in the history books, but behind a restaurant in Palm Beach, where a modest headstone labeled “The Human Monkey” sparked a deep fascination. The monkey, once a fixture of Mizner’s famously eccentric life, became the ideal vessel through which to explore the island’s mythology — part fact, part fantasy, and entirely ripe for reimagining.
Palm Beach, after all, has always lived in dualities. It’s dazzling and decadent, but also curiously insular, with its rituals of fashion, social climbing, and curated nonchalance. Strosberg saw this clearly. Drawing from Slim Aarons photographs, Ziegfeld-era party lore, and his own observations of the Palm Beach scene, he imagined Johnnie as more than a novelty. In his hands, the monkey becomes both muse and mirror — dressed to impress and always in on the joke.
“My work has always lived in tension,” Strosberg says. “When I paint portraits, it’s not just the skin I’m painting, but the emotions behind the mask.”
It’s a philosophy he applies even to fur and feathers. Johnnie appears throughout the series as a quintessential Palm Beach everyman—sporting reimagined takes on Lilly Pulitzer prints and Maus & Hoffman stripes, whether he’s hanging out by The Breakers pool, pacing yacht decks, or stealing the spotlight at Swifty’s with a pastel blazer and oversized shades.
For Strosberg, fashion is less costume than character development. His monkeys are intentionally overdressed — not to poke fun, but to lean into the theatricality of luxury itself. The bright colors, the exaggerated accessories, the exaggerated elegance of it all — they’re part of Palm Beach’s DNA, and his monkeys wear it as naturally as any socialite at Buccan.
To bring the series to life, Strosberg blends modern technology with time-honored craft. While he uses AI and Photoshop in the early stages to mock up concepts or work with collectors on custom commissions, the final works are painted by hand using oil and egg tempera — the same painstaking techniques favored by German, Flemish, and Italian masters. He trained at the Académie Julian in Paris, and his knowledge of traditional portraiture is palpable in every brushstroke.
The difference, he insists, is tactile. AI might help generate ideas, but the real emotion — the humor, the humanity — lives in the paint itself. “AI is cold and lifeless,” he says. “It may work in some cases, but not for what I’m trying to do.”
That depth is part of what makes the series feel both nostalgic and of-the-moment. Strosberg doesn’t seek to rewrite Palm Beach history, but to reimagine it through a more accessible, joyful lens. By anthropomorphizing Johnnie and placing him in aspirational settings, he’s offering a subtle social critique — not a harsh satire, but a romantic re-framing. One that invites viewers to see themselves in the monkey’s eyes and to consider the rituals of elegance, mimicry, and aspiration that shape life on the island.
The series now includes twelve original portraits, each a variation of Johnnie as an avatar of modern Palm Beach. More are on the way, including five new paintings to be unveiled this fall. A 3D sculpture is also in development, along with a limited-edition line of prints. Collectors from the Hamptons to Miami are lining up, and Strosberg is already dreaming up future expansions: Monkeying Around New York, Monkeying Around Paris. But for now, the muse remains local. Palm Beach, after all, offers endless material.
What makes Monkeying Around Palm Beach so compelling is not just the craft or the wit, but the warmth. These monkeys aren’t caricatures — they’re invitations. To laugh a little. To see yourself, and your world, from a different angle. To remember that style, at its best, is both self-aware and a little bit wild.
“Every person who sees my monkeys tells me it puts a smile on their face,” Strosberg says. “That’s really all I want.”
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Monkeying Around Palm Beach is part of Strosberg’s ongoing Reimagining Palm Beach series. Originals and limited-edition prints are available at www.reimaginingpalmbeach.com.
For custom commissions, collaborations, or press inquiries, contact:
Serge Strosberg | 561-317-3657 | sergestrosberg@gmail.com
Instagram: @reimaginingpalmbeach
Beneath the whimsy lies something more layered: a commentary on identity, leisure, and the art of belonging in one of America’s most performative playgrounds.
Johnnie appears throughout the series as a quintessential Palm Beach everyman—sporting reimagined takes on Lilly Pulitzer prints and Maus & Hoffman stripes.