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Rollins Museum of Art
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Former name Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Established 1978 (1978)
Location 1000 Holt Avenue
Winter Park, Florida
Type Art
Accreditation American Alliance of Museums
Collection size 5,000

The Rollins Museum of Art is a cool place to explore art! It's located right on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. This museum is special because it's the only "teaching museum" in the Orlando area. This means it's a place where students and visitors can learn a lot about art.

The museum has over 5,000 amazing art pieces. These artworks come from ancient times all the way up to today. You can see rare paintings by old masters, plus lots of prints, drawings, and photographs. The museum always has new art shows that change often, along with its regular collection.

The Museum's History

The Rollins Museum of Art has a long and interesting history.

Early Days and First Museum

Around the early 1900s, Rollins College started collecting things. They had portraits of important college people and items from nature. In the 1930s, the art collection grew. This happened partly because the Samuel H. Kress Foundation gave them two beautiful Italian Renaissance paintings.

The first building made just for art on campus opened in 1941. It was called the Morse Gallery of Art. Jeannette Morse Genius helped run it and also paid for the building. Her husband, Dr. Hugh McKean, later became the president of Rollins College.

Becoming the Cornell Fine Arts Museum

In 1976, George and Harriet Cornell gave money to build a new art center. This new center would include a modern museum. The Cornell Fine Arts Museum opened its doors in 1978. Just three years later, it became the first college art museum in Florida to be approved by the American Association of Museums. This group is now called the American Alliance of Museums.

The museum building got much bigger in 2004 and 2005. It now has six art galleries and a special room for studying prints. In 2013, a new art space opened at The Alfond Inn. This hotel is owned by Rollins College, and money from it helps students get scholarships. This space shows the museum's Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art.

The Name Change to Rollins Museum of Art

On July 28, 2021, Dr. Ena Heller, the museum's director, announced a big change. The Cornell Fine Arts Museum would now be known as the Rollins Museum of Art. This new name started in the fall of 2021. It shows that the museum is starting an exciting new chapter in its 40-year history.

This name change is also part of a big plan for Rollins College. They are getting ready for a new, very modern museum building. It will be a multi-million dollar facility in Winter Park, right across from The Alfond Inn. This big plan is called the Innovation Triangle project. It includes the new, larger museum with teaching spaces. It also includes a new home for the Rollins College - Crummer Graduate School of Business. Plus, The Alfond Inn will be expanded.

What You Can See: The Museum's Collection

The Rollins Museum of Art has a huge collection of over 5,000 art pieces. These items range from very old to very new.

  • Over 500 paintings from the 14th century (the 1300s) to the 21st century (today).
  • More than 1,500 prints, drawings, and photographs. These date from the 15th century (the 1400s) to today.
  • Over 1,100 objects that show different cultures and ways of life. Many of these were part of the original natural history museum on campus. Some were even given by the Smithsonian after a fire in the 1920s.
  • More than 1,200 watch keys from the 16th century (the 1500s) to the late 19th century (the 1800s).

Amazing Art Highlights and Gifts

Many special artworks have been given to the museum over the years.

  • 1936: General and Mrs. John Carty gave the first "old master" painting. It was The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion by Lavinia Fontana. More gifts from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1937 and 1938 officially started the museum's fine art collection.
  • 1948: The famous artist Grandma Moses gave her oil painting, Out on the Lake, to the college.
  • 1950s: George H. Sullivan, who lived in Winter Park, made the first big donations. These included artworks by William Louis Sonntag and Francesco de Mura.
  • 1960s: Rollins alumni Jack and June Myers gave many artworks that became a core part of the museum's old master collection. These included pieces by Gerolamo Bassano, Jacopo Tintoretto, Thomas Lawrence, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Pieter Claesz.
  • 2000: Kenneth Curry left over 30 paintings and drawings from the Bloomsbury Group to the museum.
  • 2008: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts donated 156 photographs and polaroids. This was part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program.
  • 2013: Barbara and Ted Alfond donated The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College. By 2015, this collection included over 230 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media works. These were by both well-known and newer contemporary artists from all over the world.

Artists You Might See

The museum features works by many talented artists, including:

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