The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens invites the community to explore Black History Month during February through works on view year-round in its galleries. The Cummer Museum’s Permanent Collection contains a number of works by Black artists that date from the mid-19th century through the present day. This month, visitors will travel back in time to Jacksonville’s silent film era through the exhibition “Jacksonville’s Norman Studios: Movie Posters from the Permanent Collection.”
Silent filmmaker Richard Norman purchased the bankrupt Eagle Studios complex in Arlington in 1920. Norman produced at least eight feature films in eight years and gained national attention by producing films with Black casts for Black audiences. His productions, low cost yet polished and entertaining, featured Black actors as cowboys, pilots and businessmen in romance, mystery and action films. He recruited some of the most prominent stage actors to make the switch to the screen. The museum acquired 18 original film promotional posters for its Permanent Collection in 2002.
Also on view from the Permanent Collection are two striking sculptures by Augusta Savage in the Helen Murchison and Edward W. Lane, Jr. Gallery. A gifted sculptor, Savage (1892–1962) was born in Green Cove Springs and later became a significant teacher, leader and catalyst for change. Overcoming poverty, racism and sexual discrimination, Savage became one of this country’s most influential artists of the 20th century, playing an instrumental role in the development of some of the most celebrated African-American artists.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to view works by ancient Egyptian artists, William Artis (1914-1977), Romare Bearden (1911-1988), Sanford Biggers (b. 1970), Robert Seldon Duncanson (1821-1872), Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999), Whitfield Lovell (b, 1959), Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), and Mildred Thompson (1936-2003), among others.
In addition to a self-guided tour available on site, visitors can also enjoy Drop-In Tour: Black Artists in the Collection 2-3 p.m. Feb. 16 to learn more about the contributions and achievements of Black artists on view year-round throughout the museum. For young visitors this month, Artful Storytime, (formerly Storyteller Mornings), is an opportunity to explore the rich tapestry of African-American history and culture through an engaging tale. After the story, children will enjoy a fun, hands-on artmaking experience. That will be held 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Feb. 20.
Also, “Spirit in the Land” ends its national tour in Jacksonville at the Cummer Museum on Feb. 9.
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is located at 829 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville. Complimentary parking is located across Riverside Avenue from the museum entrance and on the corner of Riverside Avenue and Post Street.
For more details, go to cummermuseum.org or call 904-356-6857.
