Howard Finster could often be seen wearing this hat as he led “sinners,” penitents, and art lovers through the wonders of Paradise Garden. Finster once told a visitor he “gussied up” his hat with smiling faces so that he would “always present a happy face to the world.” The trademark hat was among the many compelling objects presented in the High’s 1996 exhibition Howard Finster: Visions from Paradise Garden, which was part of the High’s Paradise Project initiative, an early campaign by the High to preserve the creative legacy of this celebrated Southern self-taught artist.