Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens was first founded in 1961 and is located in Jacksonville, Florida’s Riverside area. Ninah Mae Holden Cummer willed her collection, gardens, and home to the museum. The museum’s gallery contains one of the world’s best collection of Meissen porcelain as well as fantastic collections of American, Japanese, and European artworks.
Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens has several different types of art collections. The Permanent Collection serves as a center of beauty, education, and culture to benefit all people. The Cummer Museum art collection had grown from the original 60 works imparted by Mrs. Cummer to almost 5,000 by 2016. Artwork from the Permanent Collection ranges from 2100 B.C. all the way through the 21st century and includes some masterpieces from artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Norman Rockwell, among others.
Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum also has Special Collections which contain the Eugene Savage Collection which features 113 paintings and sketches by American muralist Eugene Savage, and the Permanent Collection Archives and Rare Books which relate to the development and bestowment of Mr. and Mrs. Cummer’s home, collection, and gardens. The James McBey Collection was donated in 1961 by James McBey’s widow and includes over 140 works of art that provide a survey of his career, and the Dennis C. Hayes Collection of Japanese Prints was donated to the museum in 1998 and contains 190 Japanese woodblock prints. The Joseph Jeffers Dodge Collection has 230 paintings and photographs from the artist, and Meissen Porcelain, which was donated in 1965 and contains more than 700 works that are mostly tableware.
The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens has 2.5 acres of historic gardens featuring reflecting pools, arbors, sculptures, and fountains. The Cummer Oak, which is one of the oldest trees in Jacksonville can also be found here and has a canopy of over 150 feet. The Cummer Museum has some of the most beautiful gardens in not only Jacksonville but all of Northeast Florida. The museum’s gardens contain the English Garden, which features grass walks, brick pathways, trees and shrubs, and beautiful azalea flowers, and the Italian Garden, which includes an extensive collection of Mrs. Cummer’s marble Italian ornaments and hundreds of azalea flowers. The Olmsted Garden, which was partially destroyed in the 1960s when the Cummer homes were demolished to make space for a new museum building but were fully restored in 2013.
In 1992, the museum was expanded to include a new educational center called Art Connections. This center allowed thousands of local children to get an education in art through hands-on experiences, classes, and special tours. In 2004, Art Connections underwent a complete renovation which added new, high-tech activities such as a virtual canvas and a room that turns the shadows of dancers into art on the wall.
The Cummer Museum is open located on Riverside Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida, is open every day of the week, and also contains a cafe and shops for an all-day fun learning experience.