While walking in Miami’s South Beach Art Deco District, you will come across a distinctive 5-story building in soft colors. It features an iron gate in a Baroque style and an imposing carved sandstone frieze, reminiscent of Spanish Renaissance and Baroque architecture. You are standing at the main entrance of the Wolfsonian.
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What is the Wolfsonian-Florida International University
The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, also known simply as the Wolfsonian, is not just a university but also a museum of design and decorative arts, as well as a significant research center. Its collection aims to help visitors understand the power of art and design.
The Wolfsonian is named after collector and design expert Mitchell Wolfson, who began collecting rare books and art objects in the 1970s. In 1986, he purchased the building on Washington Avenue where he had been storing his collection for some time. He decided to establish the Wolfsonian Foundation and make his works accessible to researchers and scholars.
In 1992, Wolfson entrusted architects Mark Hampton and William Kearns with the renovation of the building. Thanks to their project, the interiors were transformed into a proper museum, featuring a modernist-style atrium, a café, a shop on the ground floor, and permanent and temporary galleries, a library, and offices on the upper floor. The Wolfsonian Museum opened to the public in 1995.
In 1997, the Wolfsonian was donated to Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, officially becoming one of its departments. Through the significant transition from a private collection to a public museum, and the commitment to students with important scholarships and educational programs, as well as to the local community with exhibitions, family events, and public lectures, the Wolfsonian has received millions of dollars in funding over the years to continue and strengthen its connection with the university and the local community, emphasizing the importance of art in everyday life.
The flags you see flying above the main entrance on Washington Avenue are the flags of the countries most represented in the Wolfsonian’s collections. It is also interesting to note that in December 2006, the Wolfsonian-FIU opened an offshoot of the museum in Nervi, Liguria, Italy, called the Wolfoniana, featuring a splendid collection of Italian artworks, design, and modern architecture.
How to Get to the Wolfsonian
The Wolfsonian – Florida International University is located at 1001 Washington Avenue in the South Beach area of Miami.
Getting to South Beach using public transportation is quite straightforward. There are Metrobus stops and Miami Beach Trolley stops within a short distance from the museum’s main entrance. There are also City Bike stations along Washington Avenue at 9th and 11th Street, as well as various bike racks along Washington Avenue.
- If you choose to use the Miami Beach Trolley, you’ll need to take the South Beach Loop line, which operates every 20 minutes, and get off at one of these stops: Washington Avenue/11th Street, Washington Avenue/9th Street, or 10th Street/Pennsylvania Avenue.
- You can also take the Metrobus, either line 120 or 150, and get off at Washington Avenue/9th Street.
- If you’re driving, there are several paid parking lots in front of and around the museum’s main entrance.
For more details on getting around Miami, feel free to check out our articles on the topic, which provide tips and suggestions for fully enjoying the city.
Admission Hours and Tickets
The Wolfsonian – Florida International University is open to visitors from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On Fridays, the museum has extended hours and closes at 9:00 PM.
The library’s reading room is open:
- Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Saturday from 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
The museum is closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, the afternoon of December 24th, and Christmas Day.
The ticket prices are as follows:
- $12 for adults
- $8 for students with valid ID, seniors, and youth aged 6 to 18.
Children under 6 years old enter for free, as do Florida residents, visitors with disabilities, and their companions.
You can enter the Wolfsonian – Florida International University for free every Friday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Wolfsonian Miami Collection
The Wolfsonian has two main collections: the library collection with over 60,000 books and the objects collected by Wolfson over the years or acquired by the museum, including large-scale posters and significant modern paintings.
The two collections of the Wolfsonian encompass a total of over 180,000 pieces, including furniture, paintings, glassware, photographs, posters, textiles, rare books, medallions, and ceramic works dating from 1885 to 1945. You will have the opportunity to admire works from many artistic and cultural movements of the 20th century, including Futurism, Surrealism, and Art Deco.
Here is a list of the main thematic areas you can explore within the museum:
- American Industrial Design: Graphic designs, posters, catalogs, patent models, and objects such as cameras, watches, radios, and phonographs. Designers featured include Donald Deskey, Walter Dorwin Teague, Kem Weber, and John Vassos.
- British Arts and Crafts Movement: The largest collection of modern British artists outside of the United Kingdom, featuring figures like C.R. Ashbee, Christopher Dresser, Ernest Gimson, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, and M.H. Baillie Scott.
- Dutch and Italian Art Nouveau: Objects and room settings showcasing Italian and Dutch-originated furnishings, along with an extensive collection of Nieuwe Kunst bookbindings.
- German Design Reform: Objects from the Darmstadt Art Colony, the Munich-based Wereinigte Werkstatten, and the Deutscher Werkbund.
- New Deal America: Paper-based design works from the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Art Project.
- Political Propaganda: Photographs, posters, books, and pamphlets of political propaganda from the former Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Spain.
- Transportation and Travel: Objects related to air, rail, and sea transportation.
- World’s Fairs and Expositions: Furniture, sculptures, paintings, and objects from international expositions held in various countries since 1851, including some artifacts from the First International Exposition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin in 1902.
Places to Stay Near the Museum
The Wolfsonian is located in one of the most famous and popular areas of Miami:South Beach. Staying in this neighborhood will allow you to enjoy the beautiful, expansive, sandy beaches of Miami, be at the heart of the city’s vibrant nightlife, stroll along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, and appreciate the architecture of the Art Deco District. Additionally, you’ll have the convenience of easy access to other neighborhoods in the city via public transportation without any hassle.
Cover Photo by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
