by We stopped at the Cummer Museum of Art in Jacksonville, Florida, to break up our dash north from Orlando once Doug’s conference was over. It was a delightful little museum right on the water, with bonus wonderful gardens for me.
The museum was founded in 1961 after Ninah Cummer (1875–1958) bequeathed her gardens, art collection, home, and personal items upon her death. The museum collection contains more than 5,000 items, featuring Europe and American art, along with a large collection of Meissen porcelain.
Peter Paul Rubens, Winslow Homer, and Norman Rockwell are some of the “big names” you can find in the museum, though we found lots of other works to enjoy.
The historic gardens, covering nearly 1.5 acres, have retained their original layout, some of which dates back to 1903. The gardens are divided into three areas: the Italian Garden, the English Garden, and the Olmsted Garden, which were designed by the famed Olmsted Brothers landscape architects. I was tickled to discover so many butterflies, too!
The cover photo to this post is Garniture of Five Vases with painted decoration by Johann Gregorious Horoldt, c. 1728-1730.
