THE CROSSROAD OF ART & DESIGN IN MIAMI
The Wolfsonian-Florida International University (or The Wolfsonian-FIU), located in the heart of the Art Deco District of Miami Beach, Florida, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For fifteen years, The Wolfsonian has been a division within Florida International University.
The Wolfsonian's collections comprise approximately 180,000 objects from the 1850s to 1950s—the height of the Industrial Revolution through the end of the Second World War—in a variety of media including furniture, industrial-design objects, works in glass, ceramics and metal, rare books, periodicals, ephemera, works on paper, paintings, textiles, and medals.
Opened to the public in 1995, The Wolfsonian has received wide recognition among scholars, collectors, educators, the media, museum professionals, and visitors for its unrivaled collection of modern material culture and its multidisciplinary approach to looking at objects as both agents and expressions of change.
Insider Travel Tips
- Metered street parking is available, and parking garages are located on Collins Avenue and 7th, 10th, and 13th streets, and on Washington Avenue at 12th street.
- The museum does not permit visitors to carry bags on their backs in the galleries. Luggage is not allowed into the museum and cannot be checked in at the box office.
- Baby strollers are permitted. Backpacks, long umbrellas, and bags larger than 11 X 15” must be checked in at the box office.
- Food and drink are not allowed in the museum and may not be checked in at the box office.
- Photography is permitted in the lobby and fifth-floor galleries without the use of flash.
- The reading room is open by appointment, Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm and Saturday, 11am–5:30pm. To schedule a visit, please contact library@thewolf.fiu.edu or call: (305) 535.2641/2637.
THE WOLFSONIAN COLLECTIONS
- The Wolfsonian's collection contains more than 150,000 objects, rare books, ephemeral items, and archives of mostly North American and European origin from the period 1851 to 1945.
- Ranging from furniture and other decorative artworks to graphic design, objects reflect the social, political, and technological changes that dominated the world during this pivotal time and demonstrate the vital role that design played in shaping perceptions of the modern world.
- Explore the museum's collection: from monumental city plans to tiny postage stamps to innovative lighting fixtures. Discover the context in which things are made and investigate how design shapes and reflects the world in which we live.
The Wolfsonian Exhibitions
- The Wolfsonian-FIU offers rotating exhibitions that focus on a wide variety of media.
- Highlighted 2015 exhibitions at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum include "Pose and Propaganda: Political Posters from the Contemporary Middle East and Afghanistan" and "At Ease: Miami Beach During the Second World War".
- Each of these exhibitions — and the museum's other features — tells a story unique not just to Miami Beach, but to the world at large.
THE WOLFSONIAN-FIU LIBRARY
- The Wolfsonian Library is home to a collection of approximately sixty thousand rare and reference books, hundreds of periodical titles, and tens of thousands of ephemeral items, as well as special collections and archives.
- The Wolfsonian library is non-circulating, but it is open regularly to researchers and scholars, though scheduling an appointment is necessary.
