Orlando Museum of Art

Laura Eidson Cosgrove grew to love art history accidentally during her college years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was required to take an art history course during her studies in political science. Laura then went on to study environmental law at the University of Florida. She had been very rooted in the Orlando community as a third generation Orlando native. When she returned to Orlando after studying environmental law in Gainesville she chose to go into insurance, which was about 15 years ago. “Downtown was being revitalized then, and I can remember going on field trips to the Orlando Science Center and to the Orlando Museum of Art. The museum was a very welcoming place to discover and learn about art.”

About 10 years ago, she met her husband Mark, who is also an art aficionado, and who serves on the Board of Trustees for the Cornell Museum of Art at Rollins College. “He was the one who really drew me into the arts community,” she says. Together they became very interested in supporting the arts locally, attending art festivals such as Art Basel in Miami, and in expanding their own collection of art as well. Their collection includes renowned artists such as Alexander Calder and Edgar Degas. Both Laura and Mark are especially fond of collecting works on paper.

In recent travels to France, she enjoyed viewing such masters as Renoir, Cézanne, and Picasso, and even had the chance to view Renoir’s studio and Mount Saint Victoire where Cézanne composed a series of landscapes. Laura shared that she identifies more with contemporary art though, which she feels reflects the current environment. For her, contemporary art has a much more visceral feeling. “It’s much more alive.” she says.

Laura has enjoyed viewing all works of art on display at the OMA and especially the recent exhibition of contemporary work by Thermon Statom, as well as Dale Chihuly and the incredible works by Jerry Pinkney in the exhibitions Aesop’s Fables. “Aesop’s Fables is a good exhibit to introduce to children, but adults can enjoy it as well” she says.

In the Orlando community, Laura serves as an Ambassador for the OMA and is interested in enriching the lives of children through different organizations such as the Foundation of Foster Children and the Junior League. Her life has been an enriched by fond memories of time spent with friends in the Council of 101 (an OMA support group) and dates at the museum with Mark, her husband. Laura has dedicated herself to the betterment of future generations both through her charity work and her love for art.

Written by: Elizabeth Rosenthal