The Museum

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, built on the site of the home of Arthur and Ninah Cummer, opened its doors November 10, 1961. From Ninah Cummer's relatively small collection of sixty pieces that launched the museum, The Cummer's permanent collection has grown to over six thousand works of art encompassing eight thousand years of art history.

This enormous growth was accomplished through the generosity of numerous patrons whose gifts of art ranged from single pieces to entire collections. Other notable acquisitions were purchased with endowments established for that purpose by benefactors and The Cummer Council. Particularly noteworthy additions are the Wark Collection of early Meissen porcelain, the Dennis C. Hayes Collection of Japanese woodblock prints, and the Eugène Louis Charvot Collection of nineteenth-century prints and paintings.

This web site features highlights from the museum's collection that are usually on view. Works are occasionally removed from the galleries for conservation purposes and loans to other art museums.

The Gardens

Two acres of formal historic gardens, created by Mrs. Cummer, enhance the museum campus today. The first garden at The Cummer residence was planted in 1903 and followed the English style. The Italian Garden designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman (1869-1950) followed in 1931.