Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy (2010-Present)

Founder, curator, and president of the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy, Marietta Lee, studied Nursing and Emergency Medical care in Kentucky. Later she received her Masters in Science from the University of Florida. After witnessing a plane crash while working as an EMT/Paramedic, she decided to find peace in drawing images of the plane crash. When she turned 32, she realized that she was much more interested in creating art. 

She then went back to school to earn a Bachelor of Art from Eastern Kentucky University in 1981 and relocated to Florida in 1984 to earn a Bachelor of Fine Art from Ringling College of Art & Design in 1991. While attending university, she visited many art museums in the area and realized that women’s artwork would go unnoticed and under-appreciated more often than not. She decided that she wanted to make a change to this.

She found an interest in seeing American artists with very colorful pieces being represented at outdoor art shows. She decided it would be fun to focus on doing this in the future. After her father suffered a stroke in 1994, she had to go home to take care of her parents for ten years. She would spend 1-2 hours a day painting, appreciating nature, and spending time with friends. Both of her parents had passed away by 2004.

In 2006, Marietta Lee finally decided to turn her dream into reality. She founded Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy, Inc. named after her grandmother, mother, and niece, all named Marietta. At this time, it was a nonprofit, private, operating foundation in her hometown of Guilford, Connecticut. After realizing that there weren’t many options to place a museum in, she focused on Sarasota, Florida, an art-friendly community. 

In 2008, she purchased the current museum site at 2121 N Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida. She officially founded the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy of Florida in 2009 and put an end to the Connecticut organization. This was when she began to remodel the Sarasota location, introducing beautiful gardens. They officially opened for business in October of 2010. When Lee opened the museum, she expected the target audience to be baby boomers but was quickly surprised to learn that it was a place for children to learn about the importance of art and museums. Today, the museum represents many light-hearted paintings, sculptures, and stained glass. The outdoor garden consists of statues of pink flamingos, a ballerina, and a rocket ship surrounded by an oak grove, orchids, and tropical plants. The museum is usually open Thursday through Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, and while the museum is free to the public, they suggest a $5 donation to support the operation of the facility.

"History-From Baby Boomers and Grandparents to Kids." Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy. Accessed August 2, 2020. https://www.whimsymuseum.org/id25.html.

"Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy | Visit Sarasota." Visit Sarasota Florida Beaches and Beyond | Official Travel Guide. Accessed August 2, 2020. https://www.visitsarasota.com/museums/marietta-museum-art-whimsy-0.

Tatangelo, Wade. "Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy in Sarasota Reopening." Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Accessed August 2, 2020. https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20181122/marietta-museum-of-art-and-whimsy-in-sarasota-reopening.