Museums and Gardens
According to Wikipedia, John Ringling and four of his brothers created the Ringling Brothers Circus which became the Greatest Show on Earth when they merged with the Barnum and Bailey Circus. An advance man, he went all over Europe scouting new talent for the circus and began collecting classical works of art. He established their winter headquarters in Sarasota in 1927.
He bought up all the remaining circuses and even Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show to own a monopoly on the circus industry and with his investments in railroads, oil fields and ranches he was among the richest men in the world giving him an unlimited budget to build a museum on his Sarasota property to house his art collection. When he died in his 70’s, the last of the seven Ringling Brothers, he had $311 in the bank. Read about the various venues currently managed by the Ringling.org for visits.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum
Start with the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, tickets are $30 each and allow entry also to the Circus Museum and Bayfront Gardens.
Ca’ d’Zan’s Museum. An additional $45, likely on a separate day, gets you a self-guided tour to the 1st floor of the Ca’ d’Zan (shown below) along with entry to the Museum of Art, Circus Museum and the Bayfront Gardens. There are cafes and concessions, and you are welcome to bring picnic items as picnic tables are available.
The Ca’ d’Zan was the Ringlings’ 56 room 36,000 sf winter home, which is now a museum in its own right.
You can come daily to the Bayfront Gardens for $5 (a guided 90-minute walking tour is $15), and on Thursdays from 5–8:00pm you can get into the Gardens and the Museum of Art for $15.
The Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion (shown below) is open from 10–5:00 daily and is free admission.
On Mondays the Museum of Art, Bayfront Gardens are free to the public, but you have to come in person to get a ticket.
The Sarasota Art Museum
Serving as a laboratory for the Ringling College of Art and Design, the Art Museum shares a campus with the Ringling College’s Continuing Studies program which offers non-credit studio and digital arts programs as well as housing the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute sponsored by the Ringling College. Clearly this is an opportunity for retirees to study new fields or develop their art.
This is the only museum dedicated to contemporary art in the area. There is a cafe and 15,000 sf of exhibition space.
The Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy
This private non-profit organization is a bit north of Sarasota has close to 2,000 interesting objects and artwork. Information is here.
Sarasota Art Crawl Trolley Tour
The Sarasota Classic Car Museum
Now lets see the gardens in Sarasota, in the next section.
