The Top 15 Sculpture Gardens in the US

By: DEVORAH LEV-TOV | Pulished on 2023-12-27

Glenstone Museum

The Top 15 Sculpture Gardens in the US-Trip AdviseDevorah Lev-Tov

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ADDRESS
12100 Glen Rd, Potomac, MD 20854, USA
PHONE +1 301-983-5001

 

Expect to drive through some farmland before arriving at Glenstone, even though it’s still considered to be in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The nearly 300-acre space, which began in 2006 with a single building of indoor art, expanded to a massive sculpture garden and several buildings at the end of 2018. Visitors are led along multiple carefully-landscaped paths through woodlands, alongside streams, and across flower-filled meadows, with a highly curated selection of 20th and 21st-century artworks strategically placed along the way. The massive, flower-covered "Split-Rocker" by Jeff Koons is hard to miss, but be sure to seek out three Andy Goldsworthy structures, two looming Richard Serra metalwork sculptures, and the creeping, spider-like aluminum "Smug" by Tony Smith. The architecture of the buildings that house the indoor collections rise from the grounds like pieces of art themselves, with carefully placed reflecting pools. If you can make it indoors, you’ll catch pieces by the likes of Brice Marden, Cy Twombly, Roni Horn, and Lorna Simpson.

Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

The Top 15 Sculpture Gardens in the US-Trip AdviseCourtesy of New Orleans & Company

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ADDRESS
1 Collins Diboll Cir, New Orleans, LA 70124-4603, USA
PHONE +1 504-658-4100

 

Nestled in New Orleans City Park, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, which is part of the New Orleans Museum of Art, underwent an expansion in 2019, more than doubling its size. The garden is now home to more than 90 sculptures set amid the unique Gulf coast vegetation. Contemporary commissioned works by artists like Jeppe Hein and Teresita Fernández were inspired by the surroundings including tree canopies, wide lawns, cypress islands, and a 2-acre lagoon, all of which are connected by pedestrian bridges designed to complement the landscape. Some pieces are placed in the water, like Katharina Fritsch’s "Schädel (Skull)" and Kenneth Snelson’s "Virlane Tower," while Elyn Zimmerman "Mississippi Meanders" is a tempered glass bridge that stretches across the lagoon. Jean-Michel Othoniel’s "L’Arbre Aux Colliers (Tree of Necklaces)" also utilizes the grounds, with glass and stainless steel strands hung on a live oak tree.

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