Celebrate Valentine’s Day Weekend at The Ringling

February 1, 2021 – Sarasota

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art invites all to join us for a little fun and romance over Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 12-14 2021. Romance at the Ringling provides an opportunity for guests to visit Sarasota’s most romantic spot! 

“The Ringling is all about love!” said Virginia Harshman, Public Relations and marketing manager, “We celebrate the great love between John and Mable and their immense love for the people of Florida that led them to create and give this incredible property and collection for generations to enjoy. There is also a tremendous amount of love for the museum on the part of the staff who continue the Ringling’s work and last, but certainly not least the love that is constantly shown by the Sarasota community for our beautiful jewel on the bay. It seems very appropriate to spend Valentine’s weekend at The Ringling!”

Highlights of the weekend include the opportunity to create your own tour using custom designed prompts. Whether you are visiting alone, with friends or family, or your sweetheart, you may now customize your own tour. Audio Guides are available for the Museum of Art and Ca’ d’Zan, as well as a variety of digital venue guides that can be easily accessed using your own device. Don’t forget to bring your headphones!

With 66-acres of beautiful grounds, outdoor spaces and the bayfront in the backyard, guests may feel safe in being to social distance and enjoy a bit of respite and relaxation. 

The Ringling is a favorite spot to snap a selfie. Discover the best spots for photo ops on the 66-acre estate, check out photos visitors have shared on Instagram https://www.Instagram.com/theringling/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheRingling. Tag your photos #TheRingling! Professional portrait shoots may also be booked. Prices start at $200.00 and guests will bring their own photographer. 

Guests may also dine on campus and enjoy either a lunch or dinner special for two at the Ringling Grillroom. Located in the John M. McKay Visitor’s Pavilion, indoor and outdoor seating and take-away service is available. The special menus will be available Feb. 12-14, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

In addition, The Ringling will be opening two new exhibitions. Frans Hals: Detecting a Decade highlights The Ringling’s portrait of Pieter Jacobsz Olycan, by the Dutch Baroque master Frans Hals (1582/83 – 1666), is one of the museum’s treasures. Renowned in his own day for his lively brushwork and uncanny ability to capture the vitality of his sitters, Hals continues to be a favorite among art lovers, collectors and artists alike. In this exhibition, organized by the Dallas Museum of Art, The Ringling’s painting, which was executed about 1639, will be displayed side-by-side with a second portrait by Hals of Olycan (private collection), painted about 10 years earlier. Through close examination and comparison of these two portraits of the same person, the exhibition will shed light on Hals’s revolutionary painting technique, and will explain how his work evolved over the decade of the 1630s.

On display in the Searing Gallery will be Larry Rivers: Boston Massacre. In this series of 13 mixed-media prints, Larry Rivers, one of the pioneers of Pop Art, reimagines the tragedy of the Boston Massacre. This event, marking the beginning of the American Revolution, occurred March 5, 1770, when British Army soldiers fired their muskets into a crowd of civilians gathered on the streets of Boston, killing five colonists and galvanizing American sentiment for independence from Great Britain. Two hundred years later, Rivers revisits this moment in a series that disrupts traditional depictions of historical narrative through fragmentary visual references to the past that intermix with imagery from the political unrest of the 1960s. This exhibition presents the Boston Massacre portfolio from The Ringling’s permanent collection.

Regular admission fees apply. Guests may purchase tickets online at ringling.org or in person at the McKay Visitors Pavilion. The Ringling requires all guests to wear masks or face coverings inside venues and practice social distancing. More information on The Ringling’s response to Covid may be found at https://www.ringling.org/hours-and-admission. Additional information about Romance at The Ringling may be found at https://www.ringling.org/events/romance-ringling.