In 1906, on their honeymoon, Ninah and Arthur Cummer purchased their first piece of art, a painting titled "Along the Strand" directly from the artist, Paul King. The painting depicts two men riding horse-drawn carts on a beach. In 1931, Ada Cummer died, and her two sons tore down her old home and split the property. Ninah Cummer then hired landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman to create the Italian Garden on her and Arthur's land. Clara Cummer had her portion combined with her existing garden to create the Olmsted Garden.