Aiming to engage and inspire the public, the collection of almost 5000 works of art and historic gardens sits on the banks of the St John’s River, an idyllic spot which brings out the beauty of both. 130,000 visitors flock through the doors of this museum each year to experience the peace and enrichment that only art can provide.

Masterpieces by the like of by Peter Paul Rubens, Winslow Homer, Thomas Moran, Norman Rockwell, and Romare Bearden dating as far back as 2100 B.C. find their home in these gardens. The house itself is built in Tudor-style, accompanied by an elegant landscape that is divided into several gardens, each with their own unique flair of character.

The English garden is a classic rectangular piece of land, with lovely brick paths snaking through the grass, azaleas sprouting strongly from the soil and a cypress-beamed pergola – this garden is elegant and refined. The Italian garden is also bursting with hundreds of azaleas, but the difference lies in the two lengthy reflecting pools that frame it, and the gloriette that is embellished with bright green ficus plants, not to mention the many marble garden ornaments that are featured. Walking between these gardens is like travelling from the heart of English aristocracy to the famed water gardens of the Villa Gamberaia in Tuscany in just a few minutes. Designed by the most prominent figures in the world of landscape architecture and horticulture, it is no wonder that they are such winning successes, being listen in the National Register of Historic Places. Rare species of plant life flourish beneath the canopy of mighty oaks, broken up by antique ornaments, fountains a, sculptures and arbors galore.