International Renowned Artist Hunt Slonem Donates Art to Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples

NAPLES, FL — Internationally renowned artist Hunt Slonem donated an artwork titled “Totem Winter” to the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples permanent collection. The work joins other Slonem pieces “Arlain Child on Albania Steps” and "Two Cockatoos” in the museum’s collection.

“My entire career as a painter traces back to my childhood, my formative years spent in Hawaii and Nicaragua,” Slonem said. “I hope that this gift, in some small way, inspires these children to create and imagine a more perfect world.” 

In 2021, the museum exhibited a collection of Slonem’s works, which features playful Neo-Expressionist imagery often of butterflies, birds and bunnies. “Totem Winter” features his signature bunny motif on a colorful abstract background. Slonem’s art is in the collection of more than 50 major museums around the world from the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, DC to Fundacio Joan Miro in Barcelona, Spain, as well as the homes of countless private collectors.

The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is among a handful of children’s museums nationwide that boast a fine art collection. With more than 50 works by American artists depicting children and animals, the museum uses these works in various exhibitions throughout the year to inspire artistic appreciation and creativity in all its visitors.

“We are incredibly grateful to Hunt Slonem for his gift and the inspiration it will bring to so many children and adults who come to CMON,” said Jonathan Foerster, CEO of the museum. “We know that art and creative expression are among the most formative building blocks in the way children experience the world. Well before they can write or fully express their feelings through words, they draw their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams on every surface they can find.”

The museum will display this new piece, along with other works from the collection and beyond, in a Pop Art inspired exhibition slated to open in January 2025 that coincides with its annual Night at the Museum gala, which also takes inspiration from Pop Art.

For more information on the museum and its art collection, please visit www.cmon.org.

About the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples
The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is a brain-building powerhouse and Southwest Florida’s first museum devoted for children and families to learn through play. With hands-on exhibit galleries, the accessible museum invites visitors of all ages to journey through the swamps of the Everglades, climb a two-story banyan tree, or experiment with the water play station. Children can become a weather forecaster, a farmer, a chef, a fisherman, an artist, an architect, or a veterinarian; explore the cold of an igloo, the whoosh of the wind, the sound of the sea, and the effects of gravity. Throughout the day special activities encourage our guests to get involved, try something new and be energized. CMON offers a variety of interactive exhibits providing kids with education through play.

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For more information about Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, or to make a contribution, visit www.cmon.org orcall 239-260-1604.