- April 8, 2025
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Local community leaders gathered to celebrate this longtime project.
After four years of having a living room cluttered with works of art, Cici and Hyatt Brown now have a place to store it for the public to enjoy.
The Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art opened Feb. 8 to a crowd of city officials, local leaders and the many people who helped the Ormond Beach couple make their dream a reality.
“The collection that you’ve generously given us is a legacy showing over 200 years of our state’s history,” said Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “By thoughtfully selecting these works of art, you have given new life to them. I could not be more pleased and proud that the 2,600 piece collection is available to the public indefinitely.”
The Brown’s collection is the most extensive collection of Florida art in the world. Some of the works date back to as early as 1839 and will be on displayed in the six different changing galleries at the museum, located at 352 S. Nova Road.
“I have no doubt this will draw thousands of visitors here, and make our museum one of the best in the southeast, if not the entire country,” Volusia County Chairman Jason Davis. “Cici was instrumental in improving the arts for our county.”
Cici Brown was a founding member of the Cultural Arts Council of Volusia County, and served on the trustees board for Stetson University. Cici and Hyatt Brown announced the $13 million gift for construction back in May 2012.
“You all have been a big part of it, bigger than a lot of you know,” Cici Brown said. “This team came together back a long time ago, to see this project come together. It wasn’t easy, but we had to make it work. It took a lot of people to make it work. Don’t give us all the credit.”
“The buildings, the paintings, the ambiance and the history has all blow me away,” Hyatt Brown said. “I’m a local, born and raised here. We continue to collect things, and this is a representative group. We have an agreement with the museum that every 10 years, the entire collection has to be rotated. So people will get to see every painting.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Cici Brown said. “The best thing for me is the reaction of the people. It’s been so positive. We’ve been excited for a long time, but to see other people get excited, it’s really special.”
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