A sculptor's house, kept as he left it

Czech-born Albin Polasek designed his final home in Winter Park to double as his working studio — and since 1961 it has been a museum of his own life's work: more than 200 pieces across the galleries and three acres of gardens on the lake, on grounds dating to 1949. Docent tours step inside the actual studio, which is where the stories live.

Inside the Polasek Museum: Art, History, and Scenic Gardens in Winter Park | Florida Road Trip

Florida Road Trip

A wander through the Albin Polasek Museum's sculpture gardens in Winter Park, where the Czech sculptor's bronzes stand among the lakeside plantings. (No transcript available for this video.)

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens | Historic Home & Art in Winter Park Florida

A Berger With Everything

A Berger With Everything spends a Winter Park morning at the Polasek Museum — five minutes from Park Avenue, small enough for a relaxed visit, with galleries in the sculptor's home and a sculpture garden outside. The docent stories carry the tour, including Polasek's colossal horse sculpture: 19 feet tall on a 40-foot red granite obelisk, built at the Art Institute of Chicago and cut into 27 pieces to get it out of the hall, seams hidden by strategic cuts.

Key takeaways
  • The museum sits five minutes from Park Avenue in Winter Park
  • Guided tours surface the best stories, including the 27-piece colossal horse
  • 'Unfettered' is among the garden's signature nudes

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida

RV Vagabond Jerry

RV Vagabond Jerry — self-declared sculpture man, not a paintings man — gives his own tour of the Polasek: the famous self-portrait of the sculptor carving himself out of a block of stone with mallet and chisel, an 'In God We Trust' piece, the figure modeled by the artist's wife, and the lakefront grounds with their mile-marker trail. Also a wander through the artist's home, Czech beer collectibles included.

Key takeaways
  • Polasek's best-known piece shows the sculptor carving himself from stone
  • His wife modeled for several of the works
  • The gardens run down to the lake with a walking path

The piece everyone photographs

RV Vagabond Jerry — a self-declared sculpture man, not a paintings man — gives the most personal tour on this page: the colossal horse, the figure modeled by the artist's wife, an 'In God We Trust' piece, and the famous self-portrait: Polasek carving himself out of a block of stone, mallet and chisel in hand. It's the museum's whole argument in one bronze — the artist literally making himself.

The second house

The museum's own film tours the Capen-Showalter House on the grounds: built in 1885, one of Winter Park's oldest homes, with original Florida pine floors under an English Tudor renovation, and a Peacock Room that now serves as a bridal suite.

The visit shape

Small and relaxed — five minutes from Park Avenue, an unhurried morning's worth, per the Winter Park visit on this page. Pair it with the Morse Museum and you've done Winter Park's two great house-museums in a day.

Sources: the six videos on this page — two personal tours, a hosted Visit Orlando visit, a garden wander, and the museum's own house tour — summarized from their entries in our catalog.

Watch: Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens | Welcome to Sam Jose

Visit Orlando

Visit Orlando's Sam and José tour the Polasek: founded in 1961 as Czech-born Albin Polasek's last home, self-designed to double as his working studio, with more than 200 works across the galleries and three-acre gardens dating to 1949. Docent tours step inside the actual studio, and there's a small chapel where Polasek attended private services after mobility issues later in life. The garden's sculptures span metal, concrete, plaster and wood.

Key takeaways
  • Founded in 1961 in the artist's own final home and studio
  • More than 200 works spread across house and gardens
  • Docent-led tours include the working studio itself

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens 2025 | Timeless Mosaics Winter Park Florida

Slowmadic Journeys

A look inside the Polasek Museum's galleries and the sculptor's historic Winter Park home and studio. (No transcript available for this video.)

Short Tour of Historic Capen House in Winter Park, Florida | Albin Polasek Museum

Albin Polasek Museum

The museum's own short tour of the historic Capen-Showalter House on the Polasek grounds, guided by its volunteer coordinator: built in 1885, one of Winter Park's oldest homes, with original Florida pine floors under an English Tudor renovation. The Peacock Room serves as a bridal suite — the house hosts about two weddings a weekend in season — and arrived at the museum in 2013, ready for events by 2015.

Key takeaways
  • The Capen House dates to 1885, among Winter Park's oldest homes
  • It's a working wedding venue on the museum grounds
  • Only the Florida pine floors are original to the house

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