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Florida

When you think of Florida and Art, it can make your head hurt, I know. But there is stuff there.

1) Salvador Dali Museum - The Museum celebrated 24 years in St. Petersburg in March 7, 2006. However, the history of the collection began in Cleveland, Ohio in 1942. Industrialist A. Reynolds Morse and Eleanor Reese began their marriage and their lifelong involvement with Dalí and his wife, Gala, as friends and collectors with the purchase of their first painting Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope! in 1943. They spent the following 40 years seeking out the artist's work and assembling the largest private collection of Dali's art in the world.
At the moment, there is a wonderful exhibit on Dali and Film, and you can watch many of the films Dali was involved in, including Un chien andalou and L'Âge d'Or.

2) Ringling Museum - Located on a 66-acre estate on Sarasota Bay, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art was established in 1927 as the legacy of John Ringling (1866-1936) and his wife, Mable (1875 to 1929). Recognized as the official State Art Museum of Florida, the Museum of Art offers 21 galleries of European paintings as well as Cypriot antiquities, Asian Art, American paintings, and contemporary art. The Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing hosts a variety of traveling exhibitions throughout the year.

3) Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine - This "church" is not really a church, there is no congregation and no parish. It was built to cater to the needs of Catholic families visiting the Orlando area. The idea behind it is to (no, really!) support and commission art and music, like the churches used to do. And all the artwork within has been commissioned specifically for the grounds.

These are the three things I visited on my recent trip there.

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