Qualla: John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Introduction https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit Eekelley23, CC BY 4.0. On the anniversary of John Ringling's birthday, students from neighboring New College sneak onto the grounds and place a cigar on his grave. It is exactly the kind of irreverent tribute the circus king would have appreciated. Ringling made his fortune under the big top, traveling America in a private Pullman car named Wisconsin, but he spent that fortune building something permanent: an Italian Renaissance villa on Sarasota Bay filled with one of the finest collections of Baroque art in the Western Hemisphere. He willed the entire property -- the museum, the mansion, the gardens, the art -- to the people of Florida. Then he died nearly bankrupt in 1936, leaving the state to fight his creditors for a decade before it could accept the gift. The Ringling has survived neglect, near-ruin, and two hurricanes. It endures because the collection inside is genuinely extraordinary.

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: A Showman's Eye for the Masters https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit Saph668, CC0. John Ringling was not an obvious art collector. He was a circus impresario from Baraboo, Wisconsin, one of seven brothers who built the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey empire. But his years of traveling Europe -- scouting acts, negotiating deals -- gave him access to private c...

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-a-showmans-eye-for-the-masters.mp3 0:06 2 full John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Ca' d'Zan: The House of John https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit Novelminds, CC BY 4.0. The name means 'House of John' in Venetian dialect, and the mansion earns it. Designed by architect Dwight James Baum and completed in 1926, Ca' d'Zan is a Venetian Gothic fantasy overlooking Sarasota Bay -- part Doge's Palace, part Gilded Age extravagance. The Ringlings themselv...

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-ca-dzan-the-house-of-john.mp3 0:06 3 full John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Under the Big Top, In Miniature https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Circus Museum, established in 1948, was the first museum in the United States dedicated to documenting circus history. Its collections include handbills, posters, business records, wardrobe, performance props, circus equipment, and parade wagons -- the material culture of an ...

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-under-the-big-top-in-miniature.mp3 0:06 4 full John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Storms and Resilience https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit HMSyume, CC BY-SA 4.0. In September and October 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida's west coast in quick succession. Ca' d'Zan suffered the worst: eight feet of water flooded the basement, displaced roof tiles caused damage upstairs, and unmoored boats struck the terrace columns. The est...

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-storms-and-resilience.mp3 0:06 5 full John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: The Secret Garden https://qualla.com/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art/ Photo credit Bigmacthealmanac, CC BY-SA 4.0. John Ringling, his wife Mable, and his sister Ida Ringling North are buried on the property in a small enclosure called the Secret Garden, just in front of Ca' d'Zan. Mable's rose garden, completed in 1913, stands nearby, surrounded by stone statues depicting Italian peasant figu...

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]]> Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/h/v/7/john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-wp/dhv7-john-and-mable-ringling-museum-of-art-the-secret-garden.mp3 0:06 6 full