COVER STORY
Founded in 1961 , the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculp ture Gar dens holds an art collection focusing primarily on American representational sculpture , with over 200 works by Czech-born Amer i can sculptor Albin Polasek .
The museum offers guided tours of the his toric Polasek res i dence and chapel , an out door sculp ture gar den , a gallery with rotating exhibits and a gift shop . The museum is listed on the National Reg ister of His toric Places and is one of only 34 mem bers of the National Trust ’ s His toric Artists ’ Homes and Studios .
Born in the province of Moravia ( now Czech Repub lic ), Albin Polasek immigrated to this coun try as a young woodcarver in 1901 . He later attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the American Academy of Art in Rome . Dur ing his influ en tial artis tic and edu ca tional career , Polasek won many awards for his works and was commissioned to create numerous public sculp tures now found through out Europe and Amer ica . Polasek ded i cated his life to encouraging the study , appreciation and furtherance of representational art .
Albin Polasek retired to Win ter Park , Florida in 1950 after nearly thirty years as the head of the Depart ment of Sculpture at the Art Insti tute of Chicago . Albin Polasek designed his home with a functioning studio at its heart , surrounded by picturesque gardens . In 1961 , The Albin Polasek Foun da tion was formed at the sculptor ’ s request , and his gallery was opened to the pub lic as a museum .
Begin ning in 1998 , the museum ’ s trustees renewed their com mit ment to actively pro mote Albin Polasek ’ s legacy based on a coor di nated , long-range improvement plan . In 2008 the museum was re-roofed and repainted with privately generated funds . This ongoing plan focuses on renovating and expanding the museum , increasing public aware ness of the museum and developing cultural and edu cational programs . As a result of these efforts the museum was added to the National Regis ter of His toric Places . Albin Polasek was awarded the honor of Great Florid ian 2000 and was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004 . In 2008 the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculp ture Gardens was added to the National Trust ’ s ‘ His toric Artists ’ Homes and Stu dios ’– an exclu sive group with only 30 mem ber organizations throughout the country , includ ing the homes and stu dios of sculptors Daniel Chester French and Augus tus Saint-Gaudens . n
Albin Polasek with Man Carving His Own Destiny , 1961
CAPEN-SHOWALTER HOUSE FAQS
THE HISTORY
• The house is 130-years-old this year and was owned by seven different families in the 1800s and 1900s . It was built by hand with pine wood for the frame , siding , and floor .
• James Seymour Capen was the first resident . He lived here with his wife Laura and daughter Louise . He was one of the early civic leaders in Winter Park and worked for the Winter Park Land Company , owned grapefruit groves and developed property . Capen Avenue near downtown Winter Park is named after him and his family . He moved here with 10 members of his family .
• The original house had three bedrooms and was smaller than it is today .
• Why is it named the Capen-Showalter House ? o The house was built by the Capen family in 1885 and substantially renovated in the 1920s by the Showalter family , hence the hyphenated name to represent these two major eras in the history of the building .
• The Showalter ’ s added a stucco exterior to the wood house and installed the distinct double doors at the front and sides of the first and second floors .
• Portions of the original home are exposed in the southwest restroom , with original horsehair plaster , wood siding found during construction , and oldgrowth longleaf pine beams and posts , some of which are 25-feet long .
• The trees used in the original frame of the house were probably more than 100 years old .
• The Jennings Family lived in the house the longest , for 46 years .
COURTESY OF ALBIN POLASEK MUSEUM
14 IBA Success Magazine n VOL 4 , Issue 5