Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cheekwood
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Cheekwood Mansion
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 Location in Tennessee
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1200 Forest Park Dr., Nashville, Tennessee |
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| Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Bryant Fleming; et al. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000993 |
| Added to NRHP | August 23, 2000 |
Cheekwood is a beautiful, large estate in Nashville, Tennessee. It covers about 55 acres and is home to the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. This amazing place used to be the home of the Cheek family. The main house is a huge, Georgian-style mansion. It opened to the public in 1960 as a botanical garden and an art museum.
Contents
The Story of Cheekwood
How the Cheek Family Made Their Fortune
The story of Cheekwood begins with a family business. In the 1880s, Christopher Cheek started a wholesale grocery business in Nashville. His son, Leslie Cheek, later joined him and became the company's president by 1915. Leslie's wife, Mabel Wood, came from an important family in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Leslie's cousin, Joel Owsley Cheek, created a very popular blend of coffee. This coffee was sold at Nashville's best hotel, the Maxwell House Hotel. Many members of the Cheek family, including Leslie and Mabel, invested in this coffee business. In 1928, a large company called Postum Cereals (now General Foods) bought the Maxwell House coffee company for over $40 million. This made the Cheek family very wealthy.
Building a Dream Estate
After the family business was sold, Leslie Cheek bought 100 acres of land in West Nashville. He wanted to build a grand country estate there. He hired Bryant Fleming, an architect from New York City, to design both the house and the gardens. Leslie gave Fleming complete control over every detail, even the furniture inside the house.
The estate was finished in 1932. It featured a stunning limestone mansion and huge, formal gardens. The design was inspired by the grand English homes of the 1700s.
From Home to Public Garden
Sadly, Leslie Cheek passed away just two years after moving into the mansion. Mabel Cheek and their daughter, Huldah Cheek Sharp, continued to live at Cheekwood until the 1950s.
Later, Huldah Sharp and her husband offered the property to be used as a botanical garden and art museum. Local groups like the National Exchange Club of Nashville and the Horticultural Society of Middle Tennessee helped make this happen. They raised money by selling the old building of the Nashville Museum of Art. The new Cheekwood museum officially opened its doors in 1960.
Exploring the Art Museum
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Cheekwood's art collection started in 1959. It grew from the artworks that belonged to the former Nashville Museum of Art. The museum is officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums. Its main collections include American art, American and British decorative arts, and modern art. There are also many outdoor sculptures along the Woodland Sculpture Trail.
American Art Collection
The American art collection at Cheekwood has 600 paintings and 5,000 prints, drawings, and photographs. This collection was built mostly in the 1980s and early 1990s. It covers the entire history of American art. A special part of the collection focuses on a group of artists known as The Eight.
Cheekwood also has the world's largest collection of sculptures by William Edmondson. You can also see photographs by Louise Dahl-Wolfe and many prints made after World War II. Recently, the museum has added new paintings by artists like James Hamilton and William Bradford. They have also added new modern sculptures for the trail.
Decorative Arts and the Mansion
The decorative arts collection includes the third-largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the United States. It also has a 650-piece silver collection, with items from the 1700s to the 1900s.
The Cheek Mansion itself is considered a work of art. In June 2017, a year-long renovation was completed. This project brought back many of the building's original features. For example, wood and marble floors that had been covered by carpet were revealed. Historical designs, like the amazing murals in the main hallway, were also carefully preserved.
Contemporary Art and Outdoor Sculptures
The modern art collection is located in galleries that used to be the estate's garage and stables. This collection is smaller but includes high-quality works. You can see paintings by artists like Larry Rivers, Andy Warhol, Robert Ryman, Red Grooms, and Marylyn Dintenfass. Seven smaller galleries were also created in the old horse stalls. These spaces are perfect for showing special installation art.
The Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail is a collection of ten sculptures by artists from around the world. This trail extends the modern art collection into nature. It focuses on a unique kind of outdoor art that you don't often see in American museums.
Discovering the Botanical Garden
The Botanical Garden spreads across the entire 55-acre site. It focuses on showing beautiful plants, teaching visitors, and studying different plant types. The garden has many different plant collections. These include boxwood, conifers, crape myrtles, daffodils, daylilys, dogwoods, ferns, herbs, hollys, hostas, hydrangeas, Japanese maples, magnolias, and plants native to the Southeastern US. You can also find redbuds and trilliums here.
Other Fun Things to Do
Besides the Museum and the Botanical Garden, Cheekwood has more to offer. There are two gift shops where you can find unique souvenirs. You can also grab a bite to eat at Cafe 1929, which is located in the Frist Learning Center.
See also
In Spanish: Museo y Jardín Botánico de Cheekwood para niños
