When envisioning Florida art, images of lush landscapes, tropical beaches, and endless sunshine often rush to mind. However, the Sunshine State has inspired historical and innovative artistic styles for centuries. From 16^th century engravings to 20^th century oil paintings, A State of Expression captures a glimpse into the significant contributions artists have made to our state’s cultural history.

Curated from the Cummer Museum’s Florida Collection, this selection of paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures brings together works by prominent figures to create a reflection of art as sprawling as the state itself.

Image Credit:
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819 – 1904), The St. Johns River, c. 1890s, oil on canvas, 13 x 26 in., Purchased with funds from Membership Contributions, AP.1966.29.1.
Beatrice Nettles (American, b. 1946), Tropical Childhood, c. 1976, kwik print mural, additives/extenders: polymer with ammonium bichromate to make the pigments light sensitive; vinyl, 29 3/4 x 50 3/4 in., Purchased with funds from the Morton R. Hirschberg Bequest, AP.2005.3.1

As we celebrate our 65th anniversary, we are proud to showcase recent purchases and gifts to our permanent collection alongside promised works that are among the many objects the Museum preserves for future generations. Together, these objects not only reflect the growth of the Museum, but also the vibrancy of our community and Ninah Cummer’s enduring legacy.

Image Credit:
Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848 – 1912), Jardin a la Campagne, c. 1872, oil on canvas, 35 x 30 x 3 1/2 in., Bequest of Helen M. and Edward W. Lane, Jr., AG.2025.2.2

Moment in Time: A Legacy of Photographs features 115 works by important international photographers dating from the invention of the medium in the 1830s through the mid-20th century, including William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Timothy O’Sullivan, Paul Strand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Helen Levitt, and Walker Evans.

The history and evolution of this photography exhibition is notable. The original collection was created in the late 1960s, when the first corporate collections of fine art photography in the United States emerged. At this time, the corporate environment was changing from formal settings to workspaces allowing freedom of movement and interaction with customers, and the art world was redefining itself and its relationship to photography as a fine art. At this historic juncture for the photographic arts and business worlds, a pivotal collection in the history of photography was born.

Beaumont and Nancy Newhall were a husband and wife team of pioneering collectors and historians who became the first curators of the photography department at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in the 1940s. In 1967, they were commissioned by the president of the National Exchange Bank of Chicago, a legacy bank of Bank of America, to establish a corporate art collection focused solely on photography. Nancy Newhall was the primary curator for the Exchange Bank collection and continued through 1972. She was a trailblazer in the field of photography curation and the exhibition introduces her achievements to a new audience. This selection of photographs reflects her unique vision.

In the years that followed, the Exchange Bank – and its groundbreaking collection, which continued to expand – were acquired several times, finally becoming part of Bank of America in 2008. The legacy of the original Newhall collection, marking a historic partnership between the art and business worlds and a landmark in photography, resonates to this day.

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.

Image credits: Moment in Time

Lead image: Alfred Steiglitz (American, 1864 – 1946), The Steerage, 1907, photogravure, Bank of America Collection, 69.39.1.

Julia Margaret Cameron (British, 1815 – 1879), Untitled (May Prinsep), October 1870, albumen silver print, Bank of America Collection, 68.8.3.

Lewis Wickes Hine (American, 1874 – 1940), An Albanian Woman from Italy at Ellis Island 1905 negative, posthumous print 1970, gelatin silver print, Bank of America Collection, 68.19.17.

Walker Evans (American, 1903 – 1975), Barber Shop, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1936, gelatin silver print, Bank of America Collection, 68.16.12.

The Cummer Museum’s Bank of America Concourse Art Shop welcomes Jacksonville native Doug Eng, a photographer and installation artist who explores urban and natural landscapes through striking imagery. Trained as an engineer and software programmer, Eng has built a reputation for distinctive visual work and public projects.

Impressions of Place complements Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth by capturing the 33-acre Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, largely preserved as Wyeth would have seen it. Eng’s photographs, from wide landscapes to intimate details, show the roads, buildings, fields, and hills that inspired Wyeth.

With accompanying notes, the series highlights key features and relationships across the site without acting as a literal map. Eng’s personal exploration of the grounds, farmhouse, and barn offers his interpretation of the farm, giving viewers a closer connection to the landscapes behind Wyeth’s iconic paintings.

Touring the Landscape explores how American artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries shaped national identity through landscape paintings of iconic tourist destinations. As a burgeoning tourist industry grew, artists traveled widely, shaping a corpus of iconic views that helped define what it meant to be American.

From the marshes of Florida to the pastoral hills of New England, from the dramatic peaks of the American West to the scenic landscapes of Italy, the paintings in this exhibition reflect an evolving relationship between people and place. In a time of expansion, conflict, and industrialization, they reveal how a shared visual experience of landscape became central to the American imagination and the broader project of nationhood.

This exhibition, assembled from the Cummer Museum’s permanent collection, is guest curated by University of North Florida students in Dr. Meg McCrummen Fowler’s class, “Public Narratives: Museum Curation and Interpretation.”

Image Credit:

Albert Bierstadt (American 1830 – 1902), Estes Park, Colorado, c. 1876 – 1877, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 13 ⁷/₈ x 18 ⁷/₈ in., Acquired in memory of Thomas H. Jacobsen through generous contributions from family, friends and museum patrons, AP.2006.3.1

Edmund William Greacen (American, 1877 – 1949), Brooklyn Bridge, East River, 1916, oil on canvas, 37 x 37 ½ in., Gift of Mr. and Mrs. René Faure, daughter of Edmond Greacen, AG.1972.2.1

Revisiting Christian Iconography asks the viewer to consider how traditional Christian artwork and iconography has changed across time. Scenes depicting the life of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, or other New Testament references have been used for centuries in Western European art to inspire devotion. However, as artistic self-expression became more prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, artists such as Abraham Rattner and Marc Chagall used Biblical references to expand on universal themes. While rooted in tradition, these modern works challenge the imagination, encouraging reverence for the sacred and contemplation of the transcendent.

Presented by The Edge Family

Image Credit:
Abraham Rattner (American, 1895 – 1978), Crucifixion in Yellow, 1953, Oil on Masonite, Gift of Genny, Clifford, and Robert Ayers in memory of Genevieve Schultz Ayers, AG.1987.7.1

Art in Bloom brings together nature-inspired works of art, enhancing the Cummer Museum’s dynamic dialogue between interior galleries and our historic gardens.

Coinciding with the height of our spring season, Art in Bloom celebrates how today’s artists are expanding the boundaries of floral art far beyond historic still-life paintings. Works from the Cummer’s permanent collection and exciting loans from contemporary artists create a dynamic exploration of this well-known style.

Artists include Kim Cridler, Jane Hammond, Martin Johnson Heade, Jill Hotchkiss, Debora Moore, Severin Roesen, Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert, Sarah Ann Weber, Peter De Wiint, Ann Wood, and more.

Image Credit:

Jane Hammond (American, b. 1950), Korean Vase with Voodoo Lily, Tongue Orchid, and Regent Honeyeater, 2025, unique botanical collage with relief printing, digital printing, colored pencil, Sumi ink, watercolor, gouache, metal leaf and sequins hand cut and assembled on Japanese papers over cotton rag, 58 x 38 in., Image courtesy the artist and Lyndsey Ingram

Kim Cridler (American, b. 1968), Darken, 2025, steel, bronze, copper, mica, 25 x 8 in., Courtesy the artist and Lisa Sette Gallery

Ann Wood (American, b.1961), Botanical Wall, 2016 – 2020, paper, 7 x 7 ft., Courtesy of Ann Wood / Woodlucker

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is honored to announce the gift of 18 works of art from the estate of longtime museum supporters and community philanthropists Helen M. and Edward W. Lane, Jr. The couple, who had been married 56 years at the time of Ed’s passing in 2004, contributed greatly to the civic and cultural fabric of northeast Florida through their support of many organizations. Through the years they also shared a passion for collecting, researching, and sharing works of art with friends and family. In a 2014 interview, Helen noted they took their time to listen and learn, “but when we started to buy…we were hooked.”

“Mom and Dad thoroughly enjoyed acquiring and living with these paintings over many decades,” said their son, Edward. “My sisters, brother, and I are delighted that the art they so loved has found a home at the Cummer Museum.”

Image Credit: Robert Henri (American, 1865 – 1929), Sissy in Yellow, 1924, oil on canvas, 30 x 26 x 1 3/4 in., Bequest of Helen M. and Edward W. Lane, Jr., AG.2025.2.17.