The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is a public museum located in Jacksonville, Florida. The museum focuses on portraying European and American artistic paintings. The museum also has a large collection of Meissen porcelain. On 02010-01-25January 25, 2010, the Cummer Gardens were added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Museum opened in 1961 on the grounds of the former residence of Arthur and Ninah Cummer. There are three flower gardens on the museum grounds, the oldest dating back to 1903. The permanent collection of the Museum currently includes over six thousand works of art dating from 2100 B.C. to the 21st century.
Art Connections is a nationally known education center that increases the cultural learning of over 50,000 students each year and offers hands-on-art experiences for the museum visitors.
The Museum is housed in a series of modest 20th century buildings, but opens onto the St. Johns River, an historic and active Florida waterway. In early 2002 the Museum began a series of initiatives to study its future space needs, and acquired the adjacent historic Woman's Club of Jacksonville, a Tudor style residential building which will serve as a public programs and events center for the Museum. The project received a 2009 award from the Jacksonville Historical Commission.