The Ringling Circus is a globally famous enterprise, and the wealthy lifestyle of this celebrated family is on display at the Ringling Estate, the centerpiece of which is the Ringling Museum of Art.
t Renaissance paintings and sculpture on display in the Ringling Museum of Art
Experience The Gulf Coast
t Renaissance paintings and sculpture on display in the Ringling Museum of Art
John Ringling was an Iowa-born circus owner whose phenomenally successful show made him a multimillionaire. In 1925, he decided to build an art collection and a museum to house it – both as a memorial for himself and his wife, Mable, and as a gift to the people of Florida. He spent the next six years amassing a remarkable collection of European paintings, including Italian and Flemish Renaissance and Baroque artworks. There is also a dedicated Center for Art, whose opening in 2016 revitalized the museum and ushered in a new era for this important cultural center.
Did You Know?
John Ringling was one of seven brothers, five of whom started the Ringling circus together.
Gallery Guide
The galleries are arranged around a sculpture garden. Starting with the galleries to the right of the entrance hall, the rooms roughly follow a chronological order counterclockwise, ranging from late medieval painting to 20th-century European art; 16th and 17th-century Italian painting is well represented. Modern art and special exhibitions are displayed in the Searing Wing. The Visitors Pavilion is home to the Historic Asolo Theater, a splendid horseshoe-shaped theater built in 1798 in Asolo near Venice, dismantled in 1930 and shipped to Sarasota.
Experience The Gulf Coast
Museum Highlights |
Spanish GalleryThis gallery contains Spanish works of the 17th century, including paintings by El Greco and Velázquez. |
Center for Asian ArtThe Dr. Helga Wall-Apelt Gallery of Asian Art is dedicated to historical and contemporary Asian cultures. |
Astor RoomsThese lavish 19th-century interiors came from a mansion in New York. |
Bayfront GardensThe Ringling sits on the shores of Sarasota Bay. The grounds contain Mable Ringling’s Rose Garden, planted in 1913. |
StatuaryThe Renaissance-style courtyard is dotted with bronze casts of Classical sculpture. |
The Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing wingHouses contemporary art special exhibitions. |