Wednesday, March 16, 2016

The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens

 In last week's travel post,  I shared with you what we did the morning of my third day in Florida:  A visit to Mead Botanical Gardens.  It only took a few hours to walk through that garden, so after lunch we headed to the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens.

Albin Polasek was a sculptor who retired to Winter Park, Florida when he was seventy years old.  In 1961 his home was opened to the public as a museum with over two hundred of his art pieces.  This is what his home, (now a museum) looks like when you just drive up onto the property.


The inside of the museum holds local artwork for sale and also Albin Polasek's pieces.  But the grounds also contain many beautiful sculptures and other works of art in a lovely garden setting overlooking a gorgeous lake.

Our personal favorite was this hedge containing bronze reliefs of the stations of the cross.

The first picture shows a panoramic view and the rest are close ups.





 This is the entrance to the sculpture garden.  It does cost $5.00 to tour the grounds and the museum, but that cost includes a guided tour of the Albin Polasek home.


The property is so pretty and peaceful.


There are over fifty outdoor sculptures in the garden to view, along with a gorgeous lake view and plenty of flowers.


Albin Polasek was a deeply religious man so there were many religious art pieces on the property.


I loved how nature and art were put together in this garden.   The two enhanced each other;  making everything more beautiful and meaningful.



This is the view of the back of the property;  if you were standing at the lake shore looking back at the house.


This bed of red verbena with the mid size palm trees in the center was gorgeous.  I loved the quirky signs too.


A close up of the red verbena and sign.


Other flowers that caught my eye were these pretty yellow daisies.


Pink dianthus.


 And this perfect yucca plant!  I would love to be able to grow this in Wisconsin!


And look at this gorgeous trumpet vine!  Beautiful!


After we toured the grounds outside we went into the actual museum.  The first part of the museum holds artwork by local artists that is for sale.  And the best part?  They also have an interactive art display where they let you touch and explore the art....yes, you heard me right....they encourage and want you to touch the art work!  They also let you take pictures!  That's a rarity in art museums!  No guards wagging their fingers at you, watching every move you make.  I loved it!

This was one of my favorite pieces in this part of the museum, can you guess why?  Because it's a helmet made of vintage jewelry!  Is this great or what?


After we toured the local artist part of the museum, we then went on the guided tour.  First we saw a video that told us all about the life and art of Albin Polasek.  He was quite a fascinating man, if you'd like to learn more about him, you can read up on him HERE.

After the video, we then went into the main living space of his home and saw some of his more famous pieces.  


We were disappointed that with the exception of his bedroom his beautiful home was no longer a home and was now strictly a museum.  We were hoping everything would be original, or at least replicated to look like when he lived there.

Now his main living space was filled with all his art work.



After we finished touring the inside of the house, we went back outside, but this time to see the sculptures in the front yard.  We had missed these walking in, but were made aware of them from watching the video.









If you like art, flowers, and gardens, then this is the place for you.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these fabulous blogs HERE and Travel Tuesday!


6 comments:

  1. This looks like such a pretty place! I love how it mixes nature and man made materials.

    Annessa
    www.seekingsunshine.com

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  2. What a bargain for such a beautiful tour! It's obvious that he loved his natural habitat. Thank you for sharing this wonderful outdoor post on this week's Maple Hill Hop!

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  3. This would be sooo beautiful to see in person one day!!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  4. I am all for green open areas and art - I particularly loved that last sculpture: Man Carving his own Destiny.

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  5. Another wonderful virtual tour of this lovely place, Amy... Lovely shots, as usual.
    Many thanks for contributing to the Travel Tuesday meme!

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  6. Lovely, Amy. Happy Easter!
    Many thanks for participating in the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

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