Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Jacksonville, Florida's Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is a museum. It was established in 1961 following the death of Ninah Cummer, who left her gardens and personal art collection to the new museum. The Cummer Museum has grown to encompass Ninah's brother-in-land, law's but it still has her original garden plans and a piece of her house with its antique furniture. Annually, 130,000 people visit the museum and gardens. The permanent collection of the museum now contains about 5,000 works of art dating from 2100 BC to the twenty-first century. The museum's collection is particularly strong in European and American paintings, and it also has significant holdings of Meissen porcelain. Art Connections, an award-winning educational facility, is also housed inside the museum.It provides a lot of interactive educational facilities and programmers for privileged and special education children The museum grounds include three flower gardens, the oldest of which dates back to 1903. These gardens, built by landscape designers such as Thomas Meehan & Sons and Ellen Biddle Ship man, have remained in their original arrangement for over a century. Cummer Gardens has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The Cummer Museum was established in 1902. Arthur and Ninah Cummer constructed their home on Riverside Avenue that year. Wellington and Ada Cummer, Arthur's parents, resided next door, as did his brother Waldo and sister-in-law Clara. Wellington Cummer was a rich lumber baron who relocated to Jacksonville in 1896 from Cadillac, Michigan. The Cummer Lumber Company was formerly Florida's largest landowner. 3 The Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad was also built by Wellington. Ninah and Arthur Cummer acquired their first item of art, a painting named Along the Strand, straight from the artist, Paul King, during their honeymoon in 1906. 5 Two guys are riding horse-drawn carts on a beach in the artwork. Ada Cummer died in 1931, and Her two sons demolished her old house and split the land. Ninah Cummer commissioned landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman to design the Italian Garden on her and Arthur's property. 6 Clara Cummer's share was joined with her existing garden to form Olmsted's garden. Ninah Cummer began collecting art seriously after Arthur's death in January 1943. Ninah grew her art collection to sixty pieces in the fifteen years before her death, all of which are still in the Museum's collection today. 8 Ninah stated in 1957, the year before her death, that her gifts would "just be a little beginning toward a vast goal," 8 and that she hoped "that others will share her vision and through their interest and contributions." will contribute to the establishment of a center of beauty and culture worthy of the community " 8 To oversee her vision after her death, she established the DeEtte Holden Cummer Museum Foundation, named after the Cummers' newborn daughter,

History of museums

From a 1965 brochure, the new Cummer Gallery building.

Ninah and Clara Cummer, both widows, passed away in 1958. Ninah Cummer bequeathed her estate, including her gardens, to the DeEtte Holden Cummer Museum Foundation, which will house her art collection. The brothers' residences were razed in 1960 to make way for the museum. Clara and Waldo's property was sold and is now home to the American Red Cross Northeast Florida branch and Cummer's Art Connections teaching facility. During the destruction, some of the gardens were also damaged. Saxelbye and Powell designed the replacement structure, which was completed in 1961. 7 It has an art deco façade and an interior courtyard with terracotta tiles from the old Cummers.

Training

Art Connections has a chronology of art history.

The museum's 1992 expansion provided place for a new instructional facility named Art Connections. Through hands-on experiences, art lessons, and special student tours, Art Connections has provided arts education to thousands of local kids. 33 Art Connections earned the Institute of Museum and Library Services' National Museum Outreach Award for excellent community service in 1994. 34 In 2004, Art Connections had a comprehensive refurbishment. The majority of the effort went towards implementing new high-tech activities, such as a virtual canvas driven by a laser light brush and a space that transforms dancers' shadows into wall art. 35 Women of Vision, Junior Docents, and other educational initiatives are offered by Art Connections.

ADMISSION & MUSEUM HOURS

Monday is a closed day.

Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Thursday.

From 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday.

From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday

Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

PRICING FOR ADMISSION

Children (ages 5 and under): No charge.

Students (6-17 years old): $10

Adults pay $15.

Senior citizens: $10

$10 for military personnel

College Students: Free Tuesday through Friday, $10 Saturday and Sunday

Free for First Responders and Healthcare Workers