AWESOME ART
While vacationing, renting for a weekend, or staying for a couple months, St. Petersburg, Florida has some of the must-see museums in the entire state. Just south of Tampa Bay, this beautiful, artsy city is a destination, vacation spot on the Gulf of Mexico.
The very diverse options of museums make this area a great place to rent or vacation. St. Pete’s has a museum dedicated to the Gilded Age (1870-1989) where you can step back into time and plenty of art museums for every preference.
The King of Glasswork
Dale Chihuly is known for his glasswork. Check out the Morean Arts Center to see some of this amazing and gravity-defying pieces of glass. Designed by architect Albert Alfonso, this is the first installation of Chihuly’s work. The building masterfully brings the architect and artists together to create an experience like no other. You can even step over to the Glass Studio to see local glass artists working. As a pioneer of the studio glass movement, Chihuly’s work with glass has even helped influence contemporary art, today.
Make sure to see this collection before it closes on August 1, 2016. This exhibition will be relocated to its’ new home on Central Avenue and open again in October 2016.
The Gilded Age
Located within the Historic, former Tampa Bay Hotel, the Henry B. Plant Museum emphasizes the spectacular Gilded Age of luxury. Henry B. Plant created an empire off of railroads, steamships, and hotels. The Tampa Bay Hotel was the perfect building to showcase this extraordinary empire. Henry Plant built the hotel in 1891 and with its’ completion in 1893, it was full of all the latest luxuries the Gilded Age was known for. It was an impressive foot to construct, spanning 150 acres with 21 buildings in all.
Following Plant’s death in 1899, the building was given to the City in 1904. Since 1933 the Henry B. Plant museums and the University of Tampa call this amazing structure home. Taking a tour of this historic landmark will display what luxury was like the late Victorian period, as well as the beginning of the tourist industry within Florida.
This building conveys the Gilded Age of the late 1880’s through the grandeur and architectural feet, which make this museum a must see while staying in St. Petersburg.
Destination DALI
One of the best museums to attend in while vacationing in St. Pete’s is the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. This museum is dedicated to bringing exhibitions to life from the popular, surrealist artist: Salvador Dali. Dali was innovative in his design approach, both in his personal life and his professional one. Dali was known for taking many risks in his artistic career. Supported at a young age for his artistic talents he transformed himself into the surrealist sensation we know today.
Horst: Photographs – Fashion and Surrealism
Horst P. Horst ranked among some of the top last century’s leading photographers. Known for the impressive use of lighting and atmospheric illusions, His repertoire expanded almost sixty years, into a phenomenal career. In a collaboration between the Dali Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, this exhibition features the influences that surrealism had on Horst’s career within photography. Experience 180 original vintage photographs, sketches, films, and large-scale prints. It’s the perfect time to check out this amazing exhibit as it is open until September 6th.
“Dali Revealed”
Step into the extraordinary life of Salvador Dali. “Dali revealed” shows candid moments of his life taken by friend and photographer, Robert Descharnes. Over their 30+ years of friendship, Descharnes took roughly 60,000 negatives of Dali in his daily life. Many of these photographs show Dali in his studio, boating, spending time with his wife, Gala, and friends. For this particular exhibition, there are 48 photographs on display. These archival photos haven’t been seen in at least ten years. With the help of Dali Museum members, the collection was curated by Dirk Armstrong, assistant curator of The Dali.
On top of these three Museums listed above, there is the Museum of Fine Art, Leepa-Ratner Museum of Art, and the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Pete’s, Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum, Dunedin Historical Museum, Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, and the Children’s Museum. Take a look at this list of things to do in the area and with all the museum options, you won’t go wrong finding something to see while vacationing and renting in St. Pete’s!