10 Art Museums in Central Florida That You Shouldn't Miss

The Morse Museum is home to the world's most comprehensive collection of works by American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933). Galleries feature works such as jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass, leaded-glass lamps and windows; his chapel interior from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and art and architectural objects from his Long Island country estate, Laurelton Hall. Exhibitions also include American art pottery, late 19th- and early 20th-century American painting, graphics, decorative art. Appointments required.

The Museum features a collection of oil on wood paintings by Florida Master Artist Peter Powell Roberts (1926 - 2014). The museum store offers rotating exhibits of select regional 3-D artists, jewelry, and prints. The museum also offers sculptures and furniture made from ancient sunken logs salvaged from Florida rivers by artist, sawyer and Master Diver, John Claytor. The Center has art education

Polk Museum of Art With a diverse exhibition schedule, dynamic event calendar, and comprehensive educational programming, you will find Polk Museum of Art is truly more than an art museum. Don’t let the Polk Museum of Art’s free price tag fool you. Named as one of the Top 10 art museums in Florida and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, this Central Florida museum features an extensive permanent collection of contemporary and modern art, as well as an impressive array of Pre-Columbian, Asian, European and American Decorative Arts. Come back each time you visit Central Florida. Around 20 exhibitions rotate throughout its nine galleries each year, and it remains home to rare 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints, as well as ceramic plates made by Pablo Picasso that still bear his masterful tomato-sauce stains. There is even an outdoor garden, which showcases permanent sculptures.

Founded in 1961, the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens holds an art collection focusing primarily on American representational sculpture, with over 200 works by Czech-born American sculptor Albin Polasek. The museum also offers guided tours of the historic Polasek residence and chapel, an outdoor sculpture garden and a gift shop. The museum is the retirement home of 2004 Artists Hall of Fame recipient Albin Polasek, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only 30 members of the National Trust’s Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios.

Modernism Museum is dedicated to showcasing the inspiration and design creativity in the largest known collection of Modernist art by some of the most iconic and influential American masters of the craft. The Museum offers an unprecedented collection of Fine Art and Design, one that defines the Studio Crafts Movement, from mid-century works to those being created today. The newest exhibit, "esherick to NAKASHIMA," will focus on the Studio Arts movement and how both Wharton Esherick and George Nakashima used wood to tell a story. This show is a must-see for all who love art!

The museum’s permanent collections of approximately 18,000 objects include European, American, Asian, African, Contemporary and pre-Columbian art and artifacts, and a series of temporary traveling exhibitions are presented throughout the year. The museum is also building a collection of works of Florida artists which relates directly to the history and cultural heritage of the Central Florida community.

Explore the fascinating world of mental perception—and deception—at Orlando’s newest must-see, must-share destination, the Museum of Illusions. With more than 50 amazing exhibits, the experience will fool your eyes, trick your mind and teach you all about the amazing brain science behind the illusions. Roam the mind-bending expanse of the Infinity Room. Defy the laws of gravity in the Reverse Room. Shrink to miniature size in the Ames Room. Post photos so spectacular your friends will have to see them to not believe them. Located at ICON Park® alongside # bars and restaurants, Museum of Illusions is the perfect place to kick off a dynamic date or night out with friends. With exhibits that activate brains of all ages, Museum of Illusions makes a great family adventure full of awesome surprises.

The Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College is a teaching museum that stimulates transformative encounters with works of art while integrating art learning into daily life for campus and community. Set on the Rollins College campus, the Museum offers an intimate and unique experience in Winter Park. Among the more than 5,500 works ranging from antiquity to contemporary–2% of which is on view at any given time–we hold the only European Old Masters collection in the Orlando area, a sizable American art collection, and the forward-looking Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, shown both at the Museum and at The Alfond Inn at Rollins a few blocks from campus. As an educational unit of Rollins, we strive to engage visitors of all ages with our collection and to share our innovative exhibitions, which feature a selection of works from the early Renaissance to cutting-edge contemporary. As exhibitions change seasonally, visitors are encouraged to view the website prior to visiting.