INUSA Tour Guide

Cornell Fine Arts Museum

Winter Park, Florida

THE COLLECTION.
The richly diverse art collection of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College boasts more than 6,000 works, one of the largest and most distinguished collections in Florida. It is also the oldest in the state, the first paintings having been given to Rollins almost a century ago.

The Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1937 donated several Italian Renaissance paintings, including an important Cosimo Rosselli. In 1941, Winter Park resident and Rollins trustee Jeannette Morse Genius, an art patron and artist in her own right (she married Dr Hugh McKean, president of Rollins 1951-69), donated the funds to erect the Morse Gallery of Art. Its collection of American and European art was soon the focus of many benefactors. In 1950, George H Sullivan, a winter Park resident, donated a Louis Sonntag painting; other Sullivan gift - works by Francesco de Mura and others - followed in 1952 and 1959. During the 1960s, the collection was vastly enriched by Jack and June Myers, alumni from Jacksonville, whose gifts form the backbone of the Old Master collection. In 1966, the McKeans' superb collection of Tiffany glass began a 10-year-long exhibition at the Morse Gallery. In 1976, George and Harriet Cornell contributed more than $1 million to construct a fine arts complex. The Cornell Fine Arts Center opened in 1978, and the renovated and enlarged gallery became the Cornell Fine Arts Museum. While the Cornell has always played a vital role in the community, the past several years have reflected extraordinary growth as notable works from the collection have been publicly viewed for the first time and over 500 new orks have been added by donation or purchase.

THE PROGRAM.
Since 1988, the Cornell Fine Arts Museum has organized a number of powerful exhibitions based on (or drawn entirely from) its own collection. Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting in Florida Museums, and exhibition using works from the Cornell and other Florida museums, opened in 1991 to record crowds. Other exhibitions, such as Winslow Homer: The Illustrator and A Celebration of American Art, were equally popular. A major showing for the Museum's 15th anniversary in 1993, Treasures of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, resulted in the publication of a 142-page collection handbook and a statewide tour of the exhibition.

Each year, a Florida (or Rollins alumnus) artist is featured in a solo exhibition. Rollins faculty curate many shows, such as The Synthetic Image: Fabricated Photography in Florida (1991) and the annual Senior Art Show occurs each May.

Other free programs, beside exhibitions, include:

The museum also publishes award-winning exhibition catalogues, posters, and brochures.
LOCATION: 1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Phone 407-646-2526.

HOURS: 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesday through Friday, 1 PM to 5 PM Saturday and Sunday.

ADMISSION: Free.

DIRECTIONS: Located at the end of Holt Ave, on the Winter Park campus of Rollins College. From I-4, exit at Fairbanks Ave. Turn right onto Park Ave and then immediately left onto Holt Ave and proceed to the end. Parking is available in the adjacent "H" lot and in the parking lot next to the Field House.