Orlando, FL

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Orlando

Address: 633 Osceola Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789 - MAP
Phone: (407) 647-0283
Web: www.polasek.org

The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens is the preeminent authority on renown Czech-born American sculptor Albin Polasek.

Originally the retirement home of Polasek, the museum and sculpture gardens is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features more than 200 works by the artist, along with a chapel, an outdoor sculpture garden and a gift shop.

Polasek immigrated to the U.S. as a young woodcarver in 1901, then honed his art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the American Academy of Art in Rome.

He was an influential artist and educator, and was commissioned to create numerous public sculptures both in Europe and America. He also served as the head of the Department of Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago for 30 years.

The Polasek is considered a living museum, and its outdoor gardens date to 1949. In fact, many of the original plantings were cultivated by Polasek and his family.

Other special areas to explore include the butterfly garden, two water gardens and the cycad collection along the museum's main entrance.