We are all familiar with the fantastic Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota and most likely have visited it more than once. However, if you have not visited the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, your eyes are in for a feast.
While museums like the Met in NYC or The Art Institute of Chicago dwarf the Ringling in size, the Ringling is known for some of its very distinct traits, most notably for having the largest collection of Peter Paul Reubens paintings in North America. This Reubens collection rivals the special European art galleries in top-tiered US museums.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official Art Museum of the State of Florida and was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Although Mable Ringling was listed as director in the museum’s charter, she, unfortunately, passed away in 1929 before it opened and was never to see her legacy. John Ringling willed his property and art collection, plus a $1.2 million endowment, to the people of Florida upon his death in 1936. One instruction of the will stated that no one had permission to ever change the official name of the museum.
Stroll the 21 galleries filled with over 45,000 objects including European, Asian, American paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, antiquities, furniture, immersive installations, and decorative arts from ancient through contemporary periods. You will find works by many other artists from Gainsborough to Velazaquez, Picasso, Miro, and Maplethorpe just to name a few. The Museum enjoys national and international recognition as the one of the finest museums in the world and is listed as a top cultural site.
If you do not have time to visit the Museum itself, you can easily view the collection via the website, http://www.ringling.org., from the comfort of home.
After your visit to the museum, take a short walk over to Mable’s mansion and take a seat on her patio, enjoy the view, and feel the breeze over the gulf. For another added treat, stop at the Columbia restaurant in St. Armand’s Circle for a delicious Cuban meal. You will arrive back home pleased and refreshed having spent another lovely day in paradise.
