Andrea Barnwell Brownlee is CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. | Cummer Museum
Published on April 8, 2025 at 2:55 pm
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The CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is retiring after almost five years at the helm of the Riverside Avenue institution.
Andrea Barnwell Brownlee says she was honored to have led the museum since 2020 and proud that it is increasingly regarded as a “vibrant cultural hub of Jacksonville that is welcoming to all.”
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“I am excited about devoting more time to my family and pursuing other interests,” Brownlee said in a news release about her retirement. “I wish the Cummer Museum, its board of trustees, exceptional staff and docents all the best.”
Under Brownlee’s leadership, the Cummer got a $1 million dollar grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a Leadership in Art Museums award from a consortium of funders including the Ford Foundation and the Pilot House Philanthropy. It also completed a comprehensive five-year strategic plan, as well as a separate initiative that saw the Cummer earn re-accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
The museum also acquired important works by leading artists including Sanford Biggers, Maia Cruz Palileo and Yeesookyung. And it presented a series of dynamic traveling exhibitions including Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories and Flamboyance! A Topiary Menagerie, the museum’s first-ever garden exhibition.
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The retirement is effective May 1. The Cummer’s current chief financial officer, Kimberly Noble, will serve as interim director and CEO during a search for a permanent successor.
